Honda to stop making Civic in India due to poor sales

Wow, don't get me wrong, I am no expert on the Auto market in India, however from what I can see, the Civic is too big, they appear to prefer smaller cars there, FIT/Jazz, Brio,City....

by Dany Tan of www.paultan.org

Honda will no longer produce Civics in India due to falling sales. The decision to pull the plug on the sedan is backed by dismal sales of just over 50,000 units since its launch in 2006.

Honda India’s marketing and sales boss Jnaneswar Sen told The Hindu’s Business Line that sales of the Civic have been falling steadily over the years with smaller models such as the City eating into figures. The last Civic was sold in March. “We felt there was no point in investing in a segment that was declining over the last three years,” he added.

Honda, which is the fifth largest brand in India, isn’t the only company facing this situation. In the subcontinent, the Civic fights Toyota’s Corolla and Hyundai’s Elantra in what they call the lower D-segment. Sales in this class have dropped 29% to 19,239 units in 2012-13 over the previous year. It’s clear that India prefers smaller cars like the 25.8 km/l Honda Brio Amaze Diesel.

On another note, it has been reported that Honda will launch a new Jazz next year, before a fresh City sedan, SUV, and an MPV from the same platform roll out. The latter should not be confused with a new “Brio MPV” that we expect to see at this year’s Indonesia International Motor Show.

Source;
http://paultan.org/2013/04/23/honda-to-stop-making-civic-in-india-due-to-poor-sales/