Honda Navi loses steam

Honda launched the Navi at the 2016 Auto Expo with much fanfare. This scooter was supposed to create a new segment for the company; however, a year later, the Navi is losing steam.

The sales for the Navi aren’t encouraging and have decreased considerably over the last few months. The Navi reached its peak sales in July 2017 with 11,644 units but in January 2017, the company sold only 2052 units. As per our sources, one of the main reasons why the dealers stopped stocking Navis was because of demonetisation. The majority of Navi buyers bought it with cash and didn’t opt for finance. This was possible due to the price which was approximately Rs 50,000. So demonetisation did affect Honda in terms of Navi sales.

The second problem that the Navi is facing is of the perception. Honda targeted the young generation with its digital and out-of-home (OOH) advertisements. However, not many of these target audience members were convinced with the Navi concept when they saw it ridden on the road by middle-aged men. Instead of the Navi, these buyers went and bought other Honda products, especially the Dio.

Early this year, the Japanese manufacturer launched the Chrome and the Adventure kits for the Navi. Unfortunately, there were very few takers for these accessories.

Did you know we rode the Honda Navi with the iconic Rajdoot ‘Bobby’ GTS 175 few months ago?