Honda is all set to launch the 2012 Honda Civic in Malaysia this week and its fans are desperately waiting for it. A couple of months back, the car was launched in other markets too and one of the important regions where it is yet to be launched includes India. Since the car has already been launched in some of the major markets, we were expecting the same to arrive in India soon but unfortunately for awaiting fans, Honda may not launch the car this year.
There are a number of reasons that have made Honda drop the idea of bringing the 2012 Civic to the domestic market. So for the year 2012 we will not see the new Civic coming, however we could expect the 2013 model to reach the Indian shores since Honda has already started working on it.
image – Honda Civic 2012 Model
Of the list of reasons, the main one affecting the car the most is the unavailability of a diesel engine. With the soaring petrol prices over the past months, the lack of a diesel offering has become a topic of discussion. Some time ago Honda had unveiled a 1.6 litre CRDI diesel engine that delivers 120 BHP of power and 300 Nm of torque, but the latter has not been given the green signal for our market probably because of the quality of diesel available here.
image – Honda Civic 2012 Front
Secondly the 2012 Civic is more expensive than the outgoing model. For the Australian market the car bears a price tag of $20,940 which converts to Rs. 11.9 lakhs. This price is quite high compared to its predecessor and therefore the Indian model would be priced even higher.
image – Honda Civic 2012 Rear
Also the review of the 2012 Civic is not pleasing enough. Several issues related to car’s build quality and handling have been reported and it is not doing well in important global markets. Unavoidably Honda has pulled off his hands from the Civic for the time being and have also repaid the investments of their respective local vendors who were to supply components for the 2012 Civic.
The company’s sales are declining at an alarming pace with 27 % decline coming in June 2012 compared to June 2011 due to lack of Diesel cars in its portfolio. They are testing the Honda Brio Diesel which could be launched about Diwali. The City diesel is expected to come not before 2013 and subsequently other models will follow. We will keep you posted on the new launches and developments of Honda cars in India. Stay tuned to Car Blog India for latest updates.
