Jazz hybrid here by year's end

Honda will extend its Jazz light-hatch line-up in the last quarter of this year with the launch of a hybrid version, but as part of its push to regain its leading-light status across an increasing number of segments, the company is also keen to extend its local line-up downwards.

That is, into the under-$15,000 sub-compact segment populated by the likes of Nissan’s Micra, Holden’s Barina Spark and Suzuki’s Alto. In Honda’s terminology, that means something to slip in below the Jazz.

The product is there in the form of the Brio, the company’s tiny five-door hatch launched in 2011. The Brio is built in Thailand and India for the southeast Asian and sub-continental markets.

Honda Australia is running hot and cold on the idea of bring it here. Early this year it was off the agenda, with local MD Satoshi Matsuzawa telling media it won’t meet local safety regulations until the next generation at least – another four or five years away.

Now, with the segment looking increasingly worth the trouble, the company is warming to the idea again, spokeswoman Melissa Cross told motoring.com.au.

“We’re investigating the business case for it as we understand the sub-light segment is growing and will continue to grow into the future,” she said.

Arch-rival Volkswagen and its Czech sidekick brand Skoda have already decided the time is right, announcing that VW’s Up! will go on sale here in the fourth quarter of this year, followed by Skoda’s near-identical Citigo in 2013.

Part of the issue lies with the pricing of the Jazz in the super-competitive light-hatch segment. ‘Investigating the business case’ means working out if they can get Brio to market sufficiently below Jazz’s base price of $14,990 (plus ORCs).

For a newcomer (albeit with an established name) to a segment even more price-sensitive than light cars like the Jazz, that effectively means $13K or less. Whether or not the company can achieve that with the modifications the car would need to meet Australian Design Rules and local safety standards remains to be seen.

The Brio’s 66kW 1.2-litre petrol four is good for 110Nm of peak torque. Honda offers it with a standard five-speed manual, with a CVT auto option. It’s Euro 4-compliant on emissions and sips about 5.0L/100km combined.

The Jazz Hybrid, meanwhile, sits firm on the company’s launch agenda for Q4 this year.

“We are launching this car as part of our global hybrid strategy and it will strengthen Honda's offering in the Australian hybrid market,” said Ms Cross.

“Although we know the hybrid market is still in its infancy in this country, we want to make hybrids as accessible to as many people as possible and we believe Australian consumers will eventually embrace this technology, as we have.”

The Jazz Hybrid inherits the Insight’s 65kW/121Nm mild-hybrid drivetrain, combining a 1.3-litre petrol engine, an electric motor and CVT gearbox. In base manual (UK spec) form it’s good for 4.5L/100km and 104g/km combined.

That places it a little behind the Insight – the penalty for not having purpose-designed bodywork. Jazz Hybrid pricing and specs will be announced closer to launch.

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