Consumers wanting to buy Honda Accord will now have to wait till May. The Japanese auto giant, which operates in the country through Honda Siel Car India Ltd (HSCI), had put brakes on the production of Honda Accord since December. While Honda managed to sell 46 units in January and nine units in February, the premium luxury car will no longer be available in India till early summer. This is the fall out of the eighth Generation Honda Accord that was launched in the US in the second half of 2007.
?After the launch of the eighth generation new Accord in the US last year, we started tapering down the production partially in October when the plant was undergoing expansion and later stopped it completely in December,? said Jnaneswar Sen, senior general manager (marketing), HSCI, adding that with no inventory in our stable, the car would no longer be available in the market.
The recently phased-out seventh generation Honda Accord had undergone a facelift in January 2007 and the auto major was optimistic that the premium sedan will continue to rule the segment. However, the launch of new Accord in the overseas market led to the fall in demand and this prompted HSCI to completely stop production. In December, the company sold a mere 64 units as against 268 units that were sold in November 2007, a dip of 76.12%.
?Indian consumers are knowledgeable and hence, very demanding when it comes to shelling out for a premium product in the range of Rs 15 to 16.5 lakh. Hence, we will be launching the new car in early summer,? added Sen.
Overall, the 2008 Accord sedan will be about 2.5 to 3.0 inches longer than the existing 2007 Accord and will be powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine as against the 2.4 litre i-VTEC engine and the 3.0-liter V6 engine present in the existing models.
The new Accord will be little more pricey, ranging between Rs 17 lakh to Rs 19 lakh as against the existing Accord, thanks to the advance research and development (R&D) that has gone into the making of a more powerful engine ever offered in a Honda car.
Accord, Honda?s only model in the premium segment, had so far been the largest selling car in its category. However, its absence would mean an overall decline in total cars sold in the segment and would mean a leadership position of BMW India. The company offers 5 and 6 series in the premium car category and has sold 127 units in February.