The joint venture between the Honda Motor Company Limited, Japan and Siel Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company – Honda Siel Cars India, Limited (HSCI), which is presently the biggest player in the mid-size car segment, has announced to launch the latest hatchback model Jazz, with which the company is aiming to enter the flourishing small car market of India.  

Jazz – also known as Fit in certain markets – is a new 1.2 litre engine car built specifically for the Indian market. Jazz has highest fuel efficiency in its segment. The only small car in Honda's global portfolio, Jazz will be rolled out in the Indian market in June. Priced at Rs 5.5 lakh, Jazz is going to the costliest petrol hatchback in the market. Jazz will compete with Skoda's Fabia, Tata Motors' Indigo, Ford Fusion, Hyundai's Accent, and Maruti’s upcoming Ritz.    

Commenting on the Jazz, Masahiro Takedagawa, the HSCI managing director & CEO, said, "Jazz will have all the features found in a premium large car. Our survey shows that 80% hatchback customers feel that these cars lack legroom and headroom space which we have addressed in Jazz. We have designed a special engine for India to optimise fuel efficiency and power, which delayed the launch by one year. Jazz also comes strapped with a toughened suspension to meet stiff roads conditions in India.”

According to HSCI, Jazz is based on City platform of Honda. It will have a high 70% localisation. Jazz will feature Honda pioneered V-Tec technology for high fuel efficiency, which is already applied in the Honda City engine. Being a small car, Jazz will qualify for government's 8% excise duty concession.

Takedagawa said, "We will try to pass the benefit of lower excise duty on Jazz but 30% of its components are imported and the weak rupee may lead to a higher price.” The HSCI CEO however stated that the company will not look to Jazz as a volume generator, instead the company main focus will continue to be on the company’s best-selling sedan Honda City, the Honda’s largest car in India.    

Jazz will offer option for navigation system, in-car entertainment, sporty tyres and other gizmos. The car will be initially released with manual transmission, but will later be equipped with automatic transmission.    

According to the reports from the Indian automobile market, the HSCI is looking to target smaller cities and towns with its Jazz. The company is also planning to increase the number of dealerships; currently the company has 106 dealers in India and it is looking to add 10 more. The company could also roll out a diesel model of Jazz in the next few years.