Honda Cars India will expand its product portfolio with a range of new models in the next five years. Speaking to an online media publication, Kunal Behal, Marketing and Sales Vice President, Honda Cars India, said that the company will bring one new product every year from for the next three to five years. The plan outlines all-new models and new variants of the existing cars. He also confirmed that Honda will “re-launch an SUV in the first half of the next fiscal year”.
The Japanese automaker expects to achieve eight per cent growth with sales of nearly 92,000 units in the current financial year. Honda’s Tapukara based facility in Rajasthan also serves as export hub with 23,000 units in the current fiscal year, which is 25 per cent higher than the previous period. It exports to markets like South Africa, Turkiye, Mexico and West Asia. Honda will also foray into the electric vehicle (EV) segment, though the launch timeline is yet to be revealed.
This year, Honda is ready to roll out a mid-size SUV to challenge the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder. Based on the Amaze’s modified platform, the SUV is likely to come with the 1.5L iVTEC petrol and 1.5L Atkinson cycle with e:HEV hybrid tech powertrains. While the former is good enough for 121bhp and 145Nm, the latter delivers 109bhp and 253Nm. Both manual (6-speed) and automatic (CVT) gearboxes will be on offer.
The new Honda SUV will come with the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) tech along with connected car tech, Honda’s Lane Watch system and 360 view camera. The Model will derive its design inspiration from Honda’s global SUVs including HR-V and WR-V. Some of its design highlights will include LED headlights with LED DRLs, a multi-slate grille, circular fog lamps, a coupe-like tapering roof, side body cladding and LED taillamps.
