The first big new car launch surprise of 2011 has already slipped out the bag with the announcement that Honda will relaunch the Ballade nameplate in South Africa early next year.
The Ballade name established Honda in South Africa in 1982 and the cars were initially assembled and marketed by Mercedes-Benz South Africa. Association with the three-pointed star helped the Ballade build a reputation as an entry-luxury vehicle, and the model pioneered such features as air-conditioning and optional automatic transmissions in its segment. In 19 years on the local market, more than 170 000 units were sold.
And now it is coming back. No longer a rebadged Civic, but rather a renamed City built in Thailand, new Ballade will slot in between the Jazz and Civic on the local market.
“The original Honda Ballade was a small-car pioneer that established many of the core values SA customers associate with the Honda passenger car brand to this day – quality, reliability and high levels of ownership satisfaction,” said Graham Eagle, director of sales and marketing at Honda SA.
“For that reason, we are delighted to reintroduce the iconic nameplate to the local market. After an absence of 10 years in South Africa, the Honda Ballade returns to offer another quality sedan option to the Honda customer bridging the gap between the Honda Jazz and Honda Civic ranges. We are convinced that it will have a significant impact on the small car market, much like the original did all those years ago.”
Honda says more details about the model line-up, drivetrain and specifications of the new Honda Ballade will be announced closer to the launch date. We’ve learnt that local models will feature the marque’s 88 kW 1,5-litre iVTEC engine, and that an automatic transmission will be offered…