The slowdown has not spared any segment of the Indian car market, and the luxury car space is facing a more acute problem. The recently launched Honda Civic is now available at a massive discount of Rs. 2.5 lakh, and this is inclusive of a cash discount, corporate discount and an exchange bonus. Honda dealers are offering an even bigger discount on the CR-V luxury SUV, which was launched last year. The Honda CR-V is now going for a discount as large as Rs. 4 lakhs. Both the Civic and CR-V are assembled in India by Honda through the completely knocked down (CDK) kit route. Both cars were launched at significant premiums and after a couple of months of high initial sales, people seem to have begun looking at options that are better value for money. This has left Honda with no option but to go in for deep discounting in order to move stock during this severe downturn in the auto sector.
The Honda Civic sold in India rivals the likes of the Toyota Corolla Altis, the Skoda Octavia and the Hyundai Elantra. While the Civic led the D-Segment sedan space until August ever since its launch early this year, it’s now been pushed to second place by the Skoda Octavia. In August 2019, the Skoda Octavia led the segment with sales of 151 units while the Civic came in second place with 144 units. The Corolla Altis an Elantra fared pretty poorly with 65 units and 44 units respectively.
What’s unmissable is the severe sales erosion of all these cars, both month on month, and when compared to the same month last year. Each of these cars have at least lost 30 % of sales, and is reflective of the slowdown that the industry is facing as a whole. While the Hyundai Elantra is all set to get a facelift soon, the other sedans in this segment will have to motor on with hefty discounts. Prices of the Civic start from Rs. 17.94 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi.
The Civic is offered with two engine options: a 1.8 liter-4 cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine with 138 Bhp-174 Nm on tap, and a 1.6-liter turbocharged diesel engine with 118 Bhp-300 Nm. While the petrol engine uses a CVT automatic gearbox, the diesel gets a 6-speed manual as standard. The Civic is the sharpest looking D-Segment sedan currently but could soon be upstaged by the facelifted Elantra. Coming to the Honda CR-V, the SUV is facing tough competition from the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour. Sales have actually risen to 108 units in August 2019, which is a big rise from August 2018 (when the old model was on sale) and also a rise from July 2019, when the CR-V clocked 70 units. Yet, Honda dealers are offering big discounts, which indicates a large stock accumulation at dealer yards. The CR-V gets 2-liter petrol and 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine options. The petrol engine gets a CVT automatic gearbox while the diesel is offered with a 9-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. The diesel CR-V also gets an all-wheel drive system on the top-end trims while other trims are front wheel driven. Prices start from Rs. 28.27 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi.