Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) is looking to revive the domestic sedan market with the launch of the all-new Amaze. The sub-four metre sedan will be available at a starting price of Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom). While the bookings for the all-new Amaze have begun, deliveries will commence in January 2025.
The third generation Amaze will be taking on the Hyundai Aura, Tata Tigor, and the recently-launched fourth generation Maruti Suzuki Dzire in the entry-level sedan segment. The Amaze lineup starts with the entry-level V trim at an introductory price of Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom), mid-spec VX trim at Rs 9.10 lakh (ex-showroom) and the top-spec ZX trim at Rs 9.69 lakh (ex-showroom).
Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd. said “The Amaze has always held a special place in the hearts of Indian customers, and this new generation model reflects our commitment to meeting their evolving needs. We are confident that this new Amaze will set new standards and continue to strengthen Honda’s legacy in India.”
The new Amaze will be powered by the same 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine, which produces 89bhp of maximum power and 110Nm of peak torque and is mated to a five-speed manual or seven speed Continuous variable Transmission (CVT) with paddle shifters. Honda claims a fuel efficiency of 18.65 km/l (MT) and 19.46 km/h (CVT) for the new Amaze.
The new Amaze has been designed at Honda R&D Asia Pacific centre in Thailand. It features a hexagonal grille flanked along with twin-pod LED headlamps. As far as its interiors are concerned, it has an automatic climate control, three-spoke steering wheel with a 10.25-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system, connected car tech, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, multiple airbags, compact air-con module with rear AC vents, etc.
The third-gen Amaze comes with a slew of advanced safety features such as six airbags, ABS, EBD and also sensor based ADAS system. “With this application, we now have ADAS technology introduced in all models of our India line up and Honda Amaze is the most affordable ADAS enabled car in India,” added Tsumura. When asked about sales expectations for next year, Tsumura noted that it is expecting certain growth to accrue with the new Amaze playing a significant role in it.
While the first generation of Amaze was introduced in 2013 followed by its next edition in 2018. HCIL has sold 5.8 lakh units of the Amaze so far in the country.
According to Tsumura, Amaze serves as the entry model in Honda's lineup and contributes around 40 percent of HCIL’s total sales. In his view, “While other models in this segment cater to the commercial taxi segment in a big way, Honda Amaze enjoys the preferred ‘personal car’ status among its buyers in this segment."
He also revealed that almost 50 percent of Amaze's customers are first time car buyers and this opens up immense opportunities to add new customers to Honda's family. “The demand for the Honda Amaze is equally strong across Tier 1, 2, and 3 markets in India, and we will continue to cater to these markets through our extensive network of 300 touchpoints. We recognise the dynamic nature of the Indian automotive industry and the challenges with respect to tightening emission norms,” Tsumura added.
While talking about the compact sedan segment, Honda Cars India Vice President (Marketing and Sales) Kunal Behl said such models has immense “growth opportunities. "The share of hatchbacks is declining over the last few years. However, there are prospective buyers who are keen to own a three-box sedan. And that is the reason why we believe the segment has a huge potential for growth," noted Behl. In his view, “The launch of the third-generation Amaze should re-energise the whole lower sedan segment.”
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