Re: Honda could stall Brio production - Jazz on priority
All good, except that the money power is more with the 30-40 age group person with a family, and thats where you will get the volumes. I20 Elite is sold because it is a Hyundai, not so much because it is the best hatchback. It isnt, by many yardsticks.
Agreed sir, money power is greater with the 30-40 age group and these are the target customers for larger sedans and SUVs, right? By target customers, I do not mean the people who will buy the car, but whom the car manufacturer is trying to woo. Isn't that pretty clear with Honda's strategy as well? Jazz's marketing is primarily online based now. They are teasing the market with updates in FB and twitter everyday. Even the teaser video was a racy one. That was not the case with Mobilio - the teaser was a spoon-fed one explaining the features of the car. Obviously Mobilio was targeted at families who want flexibility and wanted to carry an extra 2 passengers occasionally. Mobilio was definitely not targeted at the college kids or bachelors. Do you agree?
Honda Jazz has been a failure as a brand. It was marketed exactly how you have described it, remember that "Jazzy" tune the advt had, where the guy brings anything from outsized luggage to a flowerpot etc for his wife/girlfriend ? That was too sophisticated for Indian tastes. And the build quality of Jazz (then) was the best amongst the hatches. It was percieved as too costly, kind of elite (I20 existed back then). Now, to position it in the 7-9 lac segment, Honda must have had some cost-engineering, keeping in line with its recent build standards for Mobilio, City etc. So it surely will not be oozing with premiumness.
Yes, Jazz failed big-time in its last attempt. But it was ahead of its time IMO. Please dont tell it did not go well with the Indian market. It went well - people liked the car (I am not sure of the ad). But the price was way too much for a hatchback (perceived as a small car). Even now, I hear a LOT of my non-enthusiast friends say "Jazz was an awesome car man". If not for Jazz's pricing, we would not even have seen i20 selling this much today. It was Jazz which made i20 look VFM and pushed its sales. There was no looking back for i20 since then.
And where does this leave Mobilio ? Only for families with parents and inlaws I suppose ? How many families owning a 10-15 lac car, really stay together as an extended family ? I see many Mobilios with 3, at max 4 people in the city and on highways.
One of the three (Jazz/Amaze/Mobilio) will take a hit. Surely.
As I said before, Mobilio is targeted at families which might need more flexibility and travel with an occasional 6-7 members - same target audience as Ertiga. But that does not prevent others from buying it. We buy a car thinking of 6-7 years forward. So, there might be smaller families also buying it for "future" occupants. But again, I am talking about the buyers the company is targeting with the car.
I expect Amaze and City to lose some of its prospective customers to Jazz. Mobilio, IMO, will not be hit by Jazz - it is already hit by its pricing and interior design. Jazz and Mobilio, IMO, are not going to fight for the same customer - a very rare chance.