Honda Jazz to be launched in March 2015

Honda Car India displayed the new Jazz at the 2014 Auto Expo, held earlier this year. The company had stated that it would launch the car sometime in 2015. Now it has confirmed that it will introduce the hatchback in March 2015.

The old Jazz was a very capable vehicle, but Honda could not price it competitively. Sales were so low that the company had to drastically reduce the price of the car. While this step helped the Jazz find more customers, Honda was losing money on every unit sold. The company was reluctant to increase the supply of the car, which led to long waiting lists, creating a new set of problems for it. Eventually, the manufacturer decided to pull the Jazz out of the market. With the new car, Honda will be keen not to repeat the mistakes it made in the past. A high degree of localisation should help the company price the Jazz competitively.

The new Jazz features some mild changes to its exterior. The silhouette of the new car is similar to that of the old car. The Jazz displayed at the Expo had interiors similar to that of the new City sedan. It also shares its platform with the City.

We expect the Jazz to get the same 1.2 litre, 88 bhp, i-VTEC petrol engine as the Brio. The 1.5 litre, 98 bhp diesel motor from the Amaze and the City is also likely to be plonked into the Jazz's engine bay.

The Jazz is likely to be built at Honda's Tapukara plant and will compete in the market against the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Volkswagen Polo and upcoming Hyundai Elite i20.

Source: Autocar India