Honda India to temporarily discontinue making Jazz

Japanese auto major Honda has decided to temporarily discontinue its first small car in India, Jazz, till next year when the next generation version of the car will come into production.

Japanese auto major Honda has decided to temporarily discontinue its first small car in India, Jazz, till next year when the next generation version of the car will come into production. The company intends to stop production of the car at its Greater Noida factory from March and has already asked its dealers not to accept fresh bookings.

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"We will have a gap in the production of the current Honda Jazz from March 2013 onwards," a company spokesperson said in a written statement to HT. "The next-generation Jazz will be introduced in India in 2014. In view of this, we have stopped taking further bookings of the Jazz."

Launched in mid 2009, Jazz was the first compact car to come out of Honda's stables in India but did not meet expectations due to its steep pricing of R7 lakh onwards. Though the company reduced the car's price by around R1.6 lakh in 2011, it was too late by then. Till date, Honda has sold a total of 22,985 units of the Jazz in India.

The company indicated that the launch of its entry-level sedan Amaze in April also necessitated the move. "The launch of new models in 2013 has resulted in changes to our production mix at our Greater Noida plant," said the spokesperson.Japanese auto major Honda has decided to temporarily discontinue its first small car in India, Jazz, till next year when the next generation version of the car will come into production. The company intends to stop production of the car at its Greater Noida factory from March and has already asked its dealers not to accept fresh bookings.

"We will have a gap in the production of the current Honda Jazz from March 2013 onwards," a company spokesperson said in a written statement to HT. "The next-generation Jazz will be introduced in India in 2014. In view of this, we have stopped taking further bookings of the Jazz."

Launched in mid 2009, Jazz was the first compact car to come out of Honda's stables in India but did not meet expectations due to its steep pricing of Rs 7 lakh onwards. Though the company reduced the car's price by around Rs 1.6 lakh in 2011, it was too late by then. Till date, Honda has sold a total of 22,985 units of the Jazz in India.

The company indicated that the launch of its entry-level sedan Amaze in April also necessitated the move. "The launch of new models in 2013 has resulted in changes to our production mix at our Greater Noida plant," said the spokesperson.