Honda has staged a strong comeback in the South African new-car market this year, with much of its resurgence backed by the December introduction of the made-in- India Brio, a first-time entry for the Japanese brand into the budget end of the local market.

“The good news is that we have turned around and things are going well,” says Honda Motors Southern Africa (HMSA) automobiles director Graham Eagle.

A random monthly comparison shows HMSA sales for May 2012 at 558 new cars, with the Jazz hatchback the biggest seller at 194 units. However, in May 2013, following the introduction of the Brio in December 2012, HMSA sold 1 112 units in South Africa, with the Brio hatchback taking pole position at 371 units.

Eagle says the introduction of the new Civic and CR-V in 2012 also helped HMSA in clawing back some lost ground, assisted by a normalising vehicle supply chain, following a range of natural disasters in Japan in recent years.

HMSA’s stronger sales follow those of its parent company, which sold 4.014-million new vehicles in the 2013 financial year – with 75% of this number outside Japan – up from 3.1-million in the 2012 financial year. Motorcycle sales for the group remained fairly steady, at just over 15-million units.

Higher income from higher sales means more money spent on research and development, says Eagle, with Honda to see the roll-out of a range of new, small high-performance inter- nal combustion engines churning out power similar to that of its larger siblings, while also emitting less carbon dioxide.

These engines should be introduced over the next two to three years, and should also make their debut in South Africa.

Eagle is hopeful HMSA can continue the growth surge seen recently, when the brand grew its new-vehicle market share by 1.4% from January to June this year, moving from 1.7% – the lowest it has ever dropped – to 3.1%.

Volumes grew 69% from January to June.

Eagle says HMSA is working hard to overtake its former market share peak of 4%, to reach 5% or 6% in the years to come.

The new Brio has succeeded in introducing the Honda brand to a much-needed younger audience, he adds, with 17% of customers aged between 18 and 24, which is exactly the Brio’s target audience.

Just over 98% of all Brio customers say they will buy another Honda, adds Eagle.

Hopefully, the expansion of the Brio range will add to all of these numbers, with the new sedan version aimed at somewhat older buyers with families.

Eagle says the segment for entry-level vehicles in South Africa is “growing nicely”.

He believes current new-vehicle market growth in the country is largely driven by manufacturers providing a range of incentives at the upper end of the market, where “things are getting really difficult”, as well as an increase in the sales of smaller, cheaper cars.

Entry-level sedans have also showed a recovery over the last two years, after facing slower sales than the booming entry- level hatchback market.

Eagle says this can be attri- buted to consumers buying down from the larger, more expensive C-segment, into the B-segment.

Pricing for the Brio sedan starts at R128 900.

The sedan has a 405 ℓ boot, and retains the Brio hatchback’s 1.2 ℓ i-VTEC engine. The four-cylinder engine produces 65 kW of maximum power at 6 000 rpm, with a torque peak of 109 Nm at 4 500 rpm.

The front-wheel-drive sedan has a five-speed manual gearbox. However, a five-speed automatic gearbox is also available.

Fuel consumption is 6.1 ℓ/ 100 km for the manual gearbox model.

Inside, the front layout of the vehicle is identical to that of the hatchback.