Judging by the launch and the initial advertisement campaign, Honda has positioned the Jazz as a 'cool' car for young, carefree professionals. A stand-up comedian emceed the Mumbai launch, pounding home the Jazz's tag line, "Honda Jazz -- Why so serious?"

"The Jazz is for the consumer who looks at life through a different eyeglass, who isn't bound by society's conventions," said Takedagawa.

Takedagawa added that, after a very rough fiscal year 2008-2009, he expects to see the India auto market bounce back in a major way in fiscal year 2009-2010.