A new rumour suggests that Honda may be planning on expanding its budget crossover offering to tackle the likes of the new Volkswagen Taigun, Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. It’s understood that this new product will slot in above the WR-V.
As Autocar India reports, the Indian arm of the Japanese company confirmed that it will be entering the crossover space with a bespoke product in the coming years. “We are developing a brand new, India-focused SUV,” Rajesh Goel, senior vice president and director of sales and marketing of Honda Cars India said.
“We see the shift to SUVs has accelerated in the first seven months of this year. Till July 2021, the share of SUVs went up by as much as 34 per cent. So the pace is accelerating and the biggest hit has been taken by sedans, I can’t hide that. The sedan percentage share in each segment is decreasing,” added Goel.
Though not much information is available, Goel insists that the upcoming crossover from Honda will be brand new and specific to the Indian market. However, the projected volumes within this market alone cannot justify the development of an all-new product from the ground up so it is likely that the model will be shared with other markets as well.
Official details on the upcoming crossover are scarce but the publication reports that Honda is currently working on a high-riding product based on the Ballade’s platform (which is sold in India as a hatchback as well under the City moniker). This product is rumoured to be 4,3 metres -long model making it a competitor for the compact crossover segment. It’s also likely that that this crossover will be related to the production version of the Honda N7X concept revealed recently in Indonesia.
Set to come in with localisation levels of over 90 per cent, the crossover is believed to borrow its powertrains from the Ballade which employs the firm’s naturally aspirated 1,5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a CVT. A 1,5-litre turbodiesel mill is also offered in India which could make its way into the new product as well. We could expect to see an official reveal of this product by September 2023.
