There are strong rumours from Honda Malaysia that the fourth generation of the Jazz which is a premium hatchback will soon be discontinued and it will be replaced with Honda City Hatchback. Although, there is no confirmation from the Japanese manufacturer yet on this. The Honda Jazz is also known as Honda Fit in many countries. For the international markets, there have been four generations of the Jazz. Whereas, in India, we only got two generations with both of them getting facelifts which was the second generation and the third one.
Honda recently unveiled the City Hatchback in Bangkok, Thailand where it will be replacing the gap in the line-up left by Jazz. While the City sedan was also launched in India and received a good response. The new City sedan was priced from Rs. 10.89 lakhs ex-showroom. Also, as the i20 is now a much premium offering from Hyundai, it makes sense to launch a hatchback version of the City which will be priced lower than the sedan and will be competing with the new generation Hyundai i20.
Also read: Facelifted 2020 Honda Jazz CVT: Video walkaround shows the car inside-out
Honda never launched the fourth generation of Jazz in India because it was not received well in the international market. In the international market, the fourth-gen Jazz was criticized a lot because of its over the top funky design. It did not make sense for the Japanese manufacturer to launch an all-new generation of a hatchback that was already not selling well in our country. People who used to buy premium hatchbacks have already shifted towards compact-SUVs and the premium hatchback segment was already led by Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai i20 and the first premium hatchback from Tata Motors, the Altroz. All of which were considered much better than the Honda Jazz.
The new City Hatchback has developed alongside the City sedan which we mean that there is a slight chance of possibility that Honda was already considering axing the Jazz in favour of the City Hatchback. It makes sense for Honda because manufacturing two vehicles based off on each other is a much more cost-effective method of manufacturing. To manufacture the City Hatchback, Honda would only have to modify the rear end of the City sedan whereas for the Jazz, they would have to develop an all-new vehicle which will cost them a lot of money.
The City Hatchback has returned after 26 years and we think that it is quite possible that Honda discontinues the Jazz in our country. There are several reasons for it. As mentioned, manufacturing the City Hatchback will be much more effective than the Jazz. Then comes the poor sales of the Jazz in India. There is no denying the fact that Jazz is not doing well in the Indian market. When compared, the City Hatchback is longer and wider than the Jazz. However, the biggest benefit of the City Hatchback is the longer wheelbase which provides more space for the rear occupants. The interior of the City Hatchback will stay the same as the City sedan. It will also get the same equipment as the sedan. However, it is not yet known if Honda will launch the new generation of the Jazz in India or will replace it with the City Hatchback. This is something only time will tell.
Also read: All-new 2020 Hyundai i20 premium hatchback: India-spec version REVEALED (Video)
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