Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited is currently saying that delivery for two higher-end variants of its 11th-generation Civic will be made in February 2023, confirmed dealers to Business Recorder on Tuesday, a development that comes after the company launched the new model earlier this month.
The massive 11-month wait applies to its Civic Oriel 1.5L, currently priced at Rs5,399,000, and Civic RS 1.5L, with a tag of Rs6,149,000, while the 'standard' Civic variant is currently being slated for August-delivery.
"We are telling our customers that the delivery times for the two high-end variants is February next year, but we are also informing them that there could be a price revision by then," a dealership, on condition of anonymity, told Business Recorder.
"We are taking bookings for approximately 20% down-payment."
Booking amount for the Civic standard variant is currently at Rs1 million, and goes up to Rs1.1 million for the Oriel, and Rs1.2 million for the Turbo models, according to documents available with Business Recorder.
The development comes as a surprise since the company, listed on the stock exchange, had only unveiled its next-generation Civic earlier this month. Dealers said the huge delay in delivery could not only upset sales in a market getting more and more competitive due to the launch of several other vehicles in the same price-segment, but also put off customers who could very well see a "substantial price-increase" by then.
Honda Atlas reveals 'tentative' prices of its 2022 Civic
"Look at where the rupee is going," added a dealer, referring to the rupee's historic weakness against the US dollar. The local currency hit its lowest value of 179.22 after a day-on-day depreciation of 24 paisas on Tuesday.
"The few units (of the 11th Generation Civic) that have been delivered are the ones that were booked much before."
Earlier, Honda Atlas discontinued its 10th Generation Civic in Pakistan, bringing down the curtain on the model it launched in 2016. Back then, dealers had said that customers making bookings for the 10th-generation could be delivered the newer model.
Delivery times for other Honda models
Meanwhile, delivery time for two of Honda City's variants – the 1.5 PT and Aspire MT – are June 2022. The Aspire PT and City MT are slated to be delivered in August 2022. City PT's delivery is scheduled for July 2022.