Honda South Africa is bringing back a long-established nameplate – Ballade.
The original – a name otherwise used only in Japan for a Civic derivative that also underpinned the British Triumph Acclaim and its Rover 200-series successor – was originally assembled and marketed by Mercedes-Benz in South Africa.
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“The new Honda Ballade will follow in the tyre tracks of a motoring legend that not only established Honda as a passenger car brand in SA, but also set new, elevated standards for small cars in terms of quality, service and luxury,” Honda SA said on its website.
“The original Honda Ballade made its local debut in 1982. It quickly established itself as an important player in the burgeoning compact sector, pioneering features such as air-conditioning and optional automatic transmissions at a time when these were unheard of in small cars.
“The Ballade collaboration spanned 19 years, during which 171,100 vehicles were sold. During that period, six generations of the Ballade were launched, representing a total of 45 variants.”
The new Ballade will be the Thailand-assembled Honda City, slotting into the line between Jazz and Civic – but local reports said Volkswagen ‘owns’ that name in South Africa – it was used for years on a Golf variant – hence the decision to revive Ballade.
