Critiques considered the launch of Amaze as one of the major moves of Honda in Indian market. Prior to launch and post launch, this entry-level sedan from Japanese auto maker has made headlines for various reasons. Honda has picked the right nerve of middle-class Indian families to build Amaze – a car that is set to decide the fate of manufacturer. Honda has introduced Earth Dreams Technology through the 1.5L iDTEC engine and claims 25.8 kmpl as the mileage of Amaze. Much care has been taken while pricing this sedan to pit it against some best selling cars of the country. But mileage and aggressive pricing are not all sufficient to gain greater grounds in India, which is one of the most competitive markets in the world. A territory, where Maruti Suzuki has greater hold, lays down perfect platform for tough contests and possesses high potential for growth. Rolling out its entry-level sedan Amaze into such a market, Honda indeed has done a lot of work before bringing out a shift in market scenario. Honda Amaze has witnessed positive growth periodically in a situation where most other rival models are undergoing decline in sales when compared to previous terms. Although the situation appears to be favourable for Honda’s new kid, the true test has just begun for this sedan as Maruti Suzuki has altered its strategy to tackle competition.
Although sales of Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire have been dwindling in numbers for past few months, the car attained the status of highest selling automobile of India’s during May, 2013. It dethroned Alto small car in sales by 854 units during the month, while Amaze stood in 8th position in the same list of top-selling cars of May. Although sales for Honda Amaze has been on a positive note, with increase in bookings Honda will be facing tougher challenges related to delivery time in future. This is because of limitation in production capacity for this entry-level sedan in India. With two production plants, having total annual production capacity of less than 2 lakhs, the company can produce about 5000-6000 Amaze models in a month. When the bookings across the country increase at rapid rate, the waiting period for Amaze too will increase, if the auto maker does not manage to increase its production volume. On the other hand, inspired by sales results of May month Maruti Suzuki can make best use of the situation by decreasing production of its hatchbacks and increasing the output of Swift DZire to shorten waiting period. This move can have direct affect on the stand of Honda Amaze in Indian market.
Apart from Maruti Suzuki, rival brands like Mahindra and Ford have been busy experimenting on newer segment of vehicles in recent past. Mahindra Verito Vibe, which was launched on 5th of June, 2013, has positioned itself between sedans and hatchbacks. Although the car is categorised as a hatchback, in terms of spaciousness and functionality it can easily bid against entry-level sedans. Ford EcoSport too has raised expectations in Indian automobile space through a wave of inspiring features it embodies in its enthralling sculpture. Post launch, the compact SUV seems to go head-on-head with hatchbacks and sedans which fall in the price range of Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh.
Amidst such tough competition, user based Honda Amaze review plays a key role in strengthening its feat in Indian auto space. Two months past its initial launch, user reviews for the car have started to flow into different forms of media. It is these feedbacks that have the ability to define the destiny of this car in the days to come.
