Abstract

The caselet provides an overview of Indian car market in 1998 and the rapid changes that took place in Indian car market by 2003 that weakened the positioning of Honda City, the mid-size car launched by Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI). The caselet describes the efforts made by HSCI to reposition the car model at the lower end of mid-size car segment by offering a low powered fuel efficient model at a lesser price. Finally, it highlights the changes that are taking place at a global level that prompted HSCI to undertake such repositioning exercise.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Positioning strategies of Indian automobile companies
• Need for repositioning of a product/service
• Product management strategies of Indian automobile companies.

Keywords

Honda City, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI), Luxury Car Segment, Mid-sized Car Segment, Honda Civic Platform, Hyundai Accent, Ford Ikon, Tata Indigo, H.Yamada, Customer Preferences, Fuel Efficiency, Fit Aria, Thailand, Free Trade Agreements, Brand Recall, Semi-luxury Segment