2018 Honda Amaze bookings cross 15,000 units; CVT variants high on demand

• Out of 15,000 bookings, 26 percent are for CVT equipped variants
• 2018 Honda Amaze is the first car in India with diesel engine mated to CVT transmission
• Honda Cars India has priced the new Amaze at Rs 5.6 lakh, ex-showroom pan-India

Honda Cars India launched the second generation of Amaze compact sedan on May '16. The carmaker sold a staggering 9,789 units of 2018 Amaze in its launch month and that helped HCIL to post 41 percent increase in sales against May 2017. Emerging reports indicate, the demand for Amaze is soaring and the bookings have crossed 15,000 units.

The booking pattern indicates new Honda Amaze's automatic transmission equipped variants are highly on demand. Out of the total bookings received, about 26 percent are for Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) equipped variants. Though it might not sound logical, it needs to be noted that there were only seven percent takers for the first generation of the Amaze which was on sale till May 2018.

In addition to the petrol and CVT combination, Honda Cars India offers the new Amaze in diesel and CVT option. New Amaze is the first car in India offered in such a combination. It looks like the diesel and CVT combo is attracting buyers as nearly one in three Amaze diesel sale are for CVT variants. The new engine and transmission combination makes up 11 percent of total Amaze bookings.

2018 Honda Amaze- A closer look

Priced from Rs 5.6 lakh (base petrol) to Rs 8.67 lakh (top-end diesel), the second generation Honda Amaze is based on all new platform. The pricing is on par with the segment leader Maruti Suzuki Dzire and also other compact sedans like the Tata Tigor, Volkswagen Ameo and Hyundai Xcent.

The new face gets a protruding front-end that is highlighted with a thick chrome grille which Honda calls Solid Wing Face. The lower section of the grille gets honeycomb pattern housed on a new bumper. The new wraparound sleek headlamps come with an integrated LED daytime running lights.

The side profile gets a prominent shoulder line and 15-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. At the rear, LED tail lamps that look like an inverted form of the Honda WR-V's tail lamps is the main attraction with a more cohesive boot when compared to its predecessor.

The interior has been spruced up with a new dashboard, multi-function steering wheel, 7-inch Digipad touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone integration, navigation, push start/stop button and cruise control and others.

New Honda Amaze - Engine and transmission

Source: Autocar