Over the past few years, we have seen major carmakers exiting from the Indian market. Starting with General Motors backing out at the end of 2017, Fiat put an end in 2019 and Ford Motors were the latest carmaker to call it quits in 2021. In recent developments, many car enthusiasts have predicted another carmaker to stop its operation in India. It is the Japanese giant, Honda. Yes, according to rumours there is a high chance of Honda cars stopping their operations in India.
Are the rumours true? If yes, what could be the reason? We will cover the entire story in this article.
Honda dismissed the rumour
Reports were circulating on the internet suggesting that Honda will completely halt its operations in India. A post from Team bhp gained a lot of traction and was viral.
Honda’s operating head, Kunal Behl replied to these allegations, “ This Frivolous and baseless comment has been made with a malicious intent to damage our position in the market. We have already taken up the matter with Team bhp to remove this post and also taken up the matter with the person who has posted this baseless, misleading and wrong information on the forum.”
Honda losses over the years
According to Economic Times, Honda Cars in India faced losses in 3 out of the last 5 years. In 2017 the company faced the highest loss of ₹2,272 crores, 2020 and 2021 posted a total loss of ₹1,680 crores and ₹1,588 crores respectively.
The losses in 2020 & 2021 were a result of the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, increase in depreciation expenses and employee separation cost.
Honda sales
Honda with its products such as the City, Amaze, Jazz, WR-V, Mobilio, Civic, Accord, CR-V, Brio was among the top 5 sellers in India. In fact, the City was and is the best selling sedan in the market. However, Honda could not keep up with the ever-increasing competition in a huge market such as India. They have slowly lost their market share to other competitors.
This is a result of their shrinking lineup. The Brio was discontinued in 2019, BR-V, CR-V, Accord and Civic were stopped in 2020. High initial cost, low demand and sales are some reasons for the carmaker to put an end to so many iconic cars in India. At present, Honda only sells 4 products in India- The Amaze, City (both 4th & 5th gen), WR-V and Jazz. Not selling an SUV in an SUV-led market could be their biggest mistake.
Additionally, they had to shut down the production at their Noida plant back in 2020, as they could not completely utilise the plants capacity. However, their other manufacturing plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan is functioning at full capacity.
Honda seems to be in a slump right now. But they are confident of sustaining in the market amid the losses. They would have to strengthen their portfolio and upgrade their tech to keep up with the market.
We would love to see Honda sell their upcoming cars in India. Which Honda car do you want to see in India? Comment below.
FAQs
1. How many cars did Honda discontinue in India?
In the past 4-5 years Honda has discontinued 6 cars in India. Mobilio, Brio, Accord, Civic, CR-V & BR-V were discontinued in India.
2. How many manufacturing plants does Honda have in India?
At present, Honda’s Rajasthan facility is functional. They shut down the Noida facility back in 2022.
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