Honda Cars India (HCIL), on Wednesday, confirmed the launch of a ‘made in India’ sports utility vehicle (SUV) specifically for the Indian market, which could be exported to the neighbouring and African countries.

Speaking to BusinessLine on the sidelines of the new Amaze launch, Gaku Nakanishi, President and Chief Executive Officer, HCIL, said, “We had shared earlier that Honda was keenly studying the SUV segment in India. But now I can confirm that a brand-new India-focussed SUV is under development. We will share more details at an appropriate time.”

Also read: Despite sharp decline in mid-size sedan market, manufacturers say there is still potential

He said more details on the size/platform, engine size, and pricing will be shared nearer to the time of the launch.

According to sources, the company will start production around August 2023 and is expected to launch during the festive season in 2023.

Challenging market

Honda had discontinued its only SUV – the CRV – last year, along with the executive sedan Civic as the company closed its manufacturing plant at Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and shifted its production to its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan.

Asked if the timeline is too late as others have already flooded the market with SUVs, Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director-Marketing and Sales, HCIL, said, “We are here for the long run. In today’s timeline, changes keep happening in the car business with a lot of model changes every four to six years…we have to look at timelines in that perpetuity.”

Asked about electrification of cars in future, Nakanishi said, “At Honda, we believe that our electrification journey is going to start with the mass model hybrid which we intend to launch next year which, because hybrids are in terms of fuel efficiency/CO2 rating, is somewhere between the internal combustion engine and electric. So if there is something available, that also will definitely be helpful both to environment and the demand.”

He added that, there is no good news from the government to give some incentives on hybrid cars. “At this time, we need some help from the government’s side. It will be very helpful to ignite the fire on the customer buying motivation after the decrease in sales in the market.”

Also read: Honda to launch new Amaze on August 18 commences bookings at ₹21,000

Facelift for Amaze

The company, meanwhile, launched the facelift of the entry-level sedan Amaze priced between ₹6.32 lakh and ₹11.15 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

While the petrol variant (1.2L i-VTEC) is priced at ₹6.32 lakh to ₹9.05 lakh, the diesel version (1.5L i-DTEC) is priced between ₹8.86 lakh and ₹11.15 lakh (all ex-showroom, Delhi).

comment COMMENT NOW