Honda could be planning to discontinue the Jazz hatchback from the Indian market. According to reports, the Honda Jazz is likely to see the end of production in 2023. The market is shifting towards SUVs, and certain shapes are going out of fashion. The trend shift has certainly hit the premium hatchback market. Recently, Volkswagen also discontinued the Polo hatchback after its long 12-year stint. Nissan too stopped offering its hatchbacks in the Indian market.
Firstly the trend shifted towards the SUV segment. This has led to manufacturers offering compact-sized SUVs at affordable prices. Sometimes these prices are well below the premium hatchbacks too. Secondly, the restrictions on length have led to manufacturers sticking to the sub-4-metre category. Therefore, small cars made in India are not well-accepted abroad because of their size. In addition to this, low volumes in both the Indian as well as international markets do not balance the economies of scale.
Industry sources reveal that the number of hatchback models has come down from 31 in 2017 to 19 in 2022. The top players in the segment are Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors. Reports suggest that the top three carmakers account for 92% of the hatchback space in the Indian market. Out of the three, Maruti Suzuki has surprisingly grown its market share to over 60%. Nevertheless, in the last five years, the market share of hatchbacks has come down from half to one-third. The market share for sedans has halved from 18% to 8-9%, and the market share for SUVs increased from 25% to nearly 50%.Â
The new-generation Honda Jazz or City Hatchback is over 4 metres. Honda Cars India is not likely to tailor the same for India volumes alone. So chances of the Honda Jazz coming back to India are minimal.
Also Read: Volkswagen’s Polo says Goodbye to the Indian market