The executive sedan segment in India is one of the most slow-growing segment and probably the one with least members. Having said that, its also one of the few car segments to have most globally popular and most sold cars. Likes of Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, and Skoda Octavia have been dominating the segment so far with Volkswagen Jetta retiring from the line-up very recently. Chevrolet’s India exit also saw this the Cruze sedan been withdrawn in the country. Overall this sedan segment has seen a decline in growth by about 9.5 per cent and seen a sales of mere 9,594 units in the last 11 months of this ongoing financial year.
Sales of Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia has seen a Year-on-Year growth this financial year but Hyundai Elantra sales have declined and Volkswagen Jetta sales dropped with the company deciding it to take it off its portfolio.
Sedan | Units Sold in Apr-Feb 2017 | Units Sold in Apr-Feb 2018 |
Hyundai Elantra | 2,012 | 1,922 |
Toyota Corolla | 3,639 | 4,357 |
Skoda Octavia | 2,134 | 2,529 |
1,038 | 417 | |
Volkswagen Jetta | 844 | 28 |
This segment will soon see the re-entry of the famous Honda Civic sedan in India which is expected to boost the sales performance in this segment. Honda Cars India announced the return of Civic in the Indian market in February 2018 and the sedan makes a comeback after 5 years. Honda Civic was first introduced in India in 2006 and had a successful run for 7 good years before Honda decided to call it off in 2013.
The big announcement of the return of Honda Civic to the Indian market came last month at the Auto Expo 2018 when the Indian arm – Honda Cars India showcased the new Honda Civic in India for the first time along with the new-generation Honda Amaze and 2018 Honda CR-V SUV. Honda Civic sedan has been a popular sedan in India when it was introduced in 2006 and had a good run for 7 years before the company decided to take it off the market in 2013. Honda Civic helped the company to increase its brand value in India and Civic was looked up as an aspirational brand in India.
Also read: Upcoming sedans in India in 2018: Toyota Yaris, Honda Civic & new Amaze to launch in India soon
Will Honda Civic bring back its magic in the India market once again when launched later this year? Now, Honda hasn’t officially stated if Civic will be launched before the new CR-V or later but we expect a festive season release. Globally, the car is available in three body styling, Coupe, hatchback and sedan. India will only get the sedan version of its new Civic in India.
Honda Cars India is currently busy planning the launch of its all-new Amaze sedan in India which is scheduled in May 2018. With the launch of Honda’s New Amaze and 2018 Honda Civic, Honda’s sedan count in India will increase to 4 more at par with its Japanese rival Toyota which is all set to launch the Honda City rival – Toyota Yaris in India next month.
Currently, Hyundai Elantra is the most affordable offering in this segment at a starting price of Rs 13.29 lakh (Ex-Showroom) and is about a lakh cheaper than Toyota Corolla’s base model. Skoda Octavia prices start at close to Rs 16 lakh. We expect Honda Cars India to be aggressive with the pricing of its Civic. The company has confirmed that it will be assembling the new sedan here in India that will allow it to be competitive against its rivals. We expect the price of Honda Civic in India to range between Rs 16-20 lakh (Ex-Showroom).
The upcoming new Honda Civic hosts a sporty design with a new headlamp cluster with DRLs, aggressive styling with character lines along the body of the car and new alloy wheels. Honda Civic will get the 1.8L petrol engine and expect the company to introduce a 1.6L i-DTEC diesel engine on the new Civic for the first time. The same diesel engine will power the 2018 Honda CR-V. Honda will launch the Civic with the options of both manual and Automatic Gearboxes.
During the Financial Year 2018-19, Honda Cars will launch the new Amaze, Civic Sedan and the 2018 CR-V SUV in India. At the Auto Expo 2018, the company confirmed the rollout of six new cars in next three years. Honda Civic is clearly going to attract both existing customers of Civic and the urban youth buyer with its sporty appeal. Honda Civic is certainly going to increase the sales in this executive sedan space. We certainly will bring you more details on the 2018 Honda Civic and its India launch.