New Amaze starts rolling out of Honda’s Tapukara plant

Honda Cars India, which is gearing up to launch the second-generation model of its Amaze compact sedan, has started production of the car at its second plant in Tapukara,  Rajasthan.

The company is bullish on the new Amaze, which did well in its first-generation avatar, helping the company double its market share in the PV segment within just a year of its introduction. The Brio-based Amaze was launched back in April 2013, making Honda take the leap of offering a diesel engine for the first time in the Indian market.

Where Honda’s PV market share stood at 2.74 percent with sales of 73,483 units in FY2013, the company’s cumulative sales in FY2014 rose to a substantial 134,339 units, doubling its market share in the fiscal to 5.37 percent.

With rising petrol prices and diesel engines being inherently more fuel efficient, the Amaze’s high fuel economy of over 25kpl from its oil-burning motor clicked with customers. Good market demand for diesels and the Amaze’s initial success prompted Honda to offer its rather efficient diesel motor in its new City sedan as well which was launched in January 2014, a move which saw Honda sell 189,062 PVs in FY2015 and further increase its market share to 7.27 percent. FY2016 saw Honda’s PV sales touch 192,059 units albeit its market share fell for the first time in three years to 6.88 percent, with the Amaze finally showing its age.

The first-generation Honda Amaze has gone on to sell well over 250,000 units in its entire five-year lifecycle, getting a mid-life makeover only in 2016. The company’s sales, however, again started to decline with FY2017 closing at 157,313 units, with a smaller market share of 5.16 percent, and FY2018 seeing aggressive assault from the new Maruti Dzire getting launched in May 2017, and the Tata Tigor, which was introduced in March 2017, also joining the attack.

What’s new in the new Amaze?
The next-generation Amaze genuinely replaces the outgoing car as it is built on a completely new platform, which gets extended dimensions in terms of a 65mm longer wheelbase and a 5mm wider track, giving Honda’s designers more room to play with, while still being within the realms of the 4-metre mark, a strict requisite of the sub-compact sedan segment. 

The new Amaze, while getting considerably aesthetically transformed, also sees a lot of changes at the core with Honda now offering its first-ever CVT coupled to a diesel engine. The new combination includes Honda’s 7-step CVT, mated to its 1.5-litre ‘Earth Dreams’ series diesel motor, which has also been reworked extensively to make it more refined and smoother. The other variants will include a diesel 5-speed manual, a 1.2-litre petrol 5-speed manual, and a 1.2-litre petrol 7-step CVT.

According to Rajesh Goel, senior vice-president and director, Honda Cars India, “We are delighted to announce the beginning of production of the new Amaze. This model will be a game-changer for Honda Cars India – both in terms of boosting our business and further strengthening our model line-up with advanced technology. The second-generation Amaze has received an excellent response from customers since its world premiere at the Auto Expo. As a special gesture to the customers who are booking the car even before knowing the price and variant details, we have decided to offer a special introductory price for the initial 20,000 bookings.”

The new Amaze will be launched in India on May 16.