Honda says Jazz will expand premium hatchback market

Japanese auto major Honda Cars India expects its newly launched Jazz will further expand the fast premium hatchback segment, which is pegged at around two lakh units annually in the country.
"We are confident that the launch of Jazz will help the market of premium hatchback segment to further expand," Honda Cars India, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales Jnaneswar Sen said here today.
He added the segment was at around two lakh units per year and the market witnessed a growth of 40 per cent last year. "It is a fast growing segment at the moment," he said.
Japanese carmaker today rolled out this new Jazz here.

The premium hatchback segment includes Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Motor Elite i20, among other cars.
On expectation from Jazz, he said that the firm would like to meet the entire demand it generates from the new car.

"... We will see the response. A lot of people are coming to our outlets to have a glimpse of the model. For a model like Jazz, we want to fulfil the entire demand in the sense that once, in a couple of months, we know what is the pattern of the demand for this car, we would like to fulfil the entire demand," he said.

Sen said the company was even ready to adjust production facilities located at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Alwar in Rajasthan in order to meet the demand for Jazz.
Sen said that the company used 95 per cent local content in the making of Jazz as against 72 per cent used in earlier version, whose production was stopped 2013.
Sen further said that the company was expecting turnover of Rs 1,100 crore from export of auto components this fiscal as against Rs 700 crore recorded in last financial year.
"The all new Jazz has been developed at Honda's R&D centre located in Tochigi, Japan.