Honda planning to launch HR-V in India by late-2019 - Report

17/08/2018 - 20:46 | ,   | Yatharth Chauhan

Honda Cars India is planning to launch the Honda HR-V by the end of 2019, anonymous sources have told Mint. Originally introduced as the Honda Vezel in 2013, the Honda HR-V is a B-SUV that slots below the Honda CR-V.

Honda planning to launch HR-V in India by late-2019 - Report
Honda has long considered the HR-V a model too expensive for and challenging to localise in our market.

Honda doesn't "have any offering in that space that can compete with Creta. So this decision makes sense", one of the sources mentioned above said. According to this source, the company has informed some of its suppliers in Japan about its decision to launch the HR-V in India.

Meanwhile executives of the company's local subsidiary, after fueling speculations for over a year now, still say that they are yet to decide on the launch. "As a continuous business process, we are evaluating its business potential in India but have not made any decision yet," Rajesh Goel, the senior vice-president and director for marketing and sales, Honda Cars India, told the business publication in an emailed response regarding the latest development.

Our take on the Honda HR-V's Indian launch is that the first generation model may not reach our shores. The premium sub-compact SUV will complete six years internationally next year and reach the end of its lifecycle. We doubt Honda would want to risk bringing an outdated model to our market. Latest Japanese media reports say that in an unusual norm, the next-gen Honda HR-V may debut before next-gen Honda Jazz, in the fall of 2019. A possibility is that the company would directly launch the second generation model here.

Honda planning to launch HR-V in India by late-2019 - Report
India may get the second generation Honda HR-V directly.

Also See - 2018 Honda Vezel (facelift) launched at the GIIAS 2018 in Indonesia

The premium B-SUV space is about to get crowded in the next three years. The Honda HR-V will face competition from not only the Hyundai Creta and the Maruti S-Cross, but also the Nissan Kicks due next year, as well as the MQB A0 IN platform-based mechanical twins from Skoda and Volkswagen that will arrive as early as in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

[Source - livemint.com]

You might also like