Honda has finally scrapped a Compact SUV. This is big news in the car industry!
The Japanese carmaker Honda is known for its sedans. The Civic and Accord have really made their impact on the petrol heads which unfortunately was discontinued, but the ongoing Amaze and City have been successful in terms of sales figures.
The new update from the carmaker is that they have scrapped the plan of developing the new compact SUV based on the Amaze platform. Instead, they plan on bringing in a new Midsize SUV which is based on the City platform.
This is not the first time Honda has dropped the plan of bringing an SUV to the Indian market. Back in 2019, the HR-V 5-seater SUV was dropped because the company could only localize 30% of the car which could not have profited the company. Then there is another issue, the compact SUV segment is already overcrowded with both affordable and expensive options.
The Honda 31XA
Now that Honda has pulled the plug on the sub 4 meter SUV, they have put their complete focus on the new mid-size SUV. According to reports, the new midsize SUV is codenamed Honda 31XA. The company has also trademarked the name ‘Elevate’ that is likely to be used for the 31XA SUV.
The midsize SUV will be based on the City platform, Which probably might come in both 5-seater and 7-seater configurations. The 5-seater will go against the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier and MG Hector. Whereas, the 7-seater will go against the Hyundai Alcazar, Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and the upcoming Mahindra XUV700.
Apart from sharing the platform with City, the 31XA SUV is rumoured to share Design and styling from the N7X concept which recently broke Cover in Indonesia. The N7X concept features a multi-slat grille with lots of chrome, slim wraparound headlights with dual LED DRLs and a clamshell Bonnet.
What powers the Honda 31XA?
The midsize SUV possibly shares both petrol and diesel motors with the City Sedan. The petrol unit is a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine making 121bhp of peak power. The 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine pumps out 100bhp and 200 Nm of torque. Both the motors are available in 6-speed manual and CVT automatic transmission.
Pricing
The advantage they could exploit is that there are not so many players in the midsize SUV segment. Also, they target selling around 40,000 units of the mid-size SUV annually which could be achieved by aggressive pricing.
In order to reach this target, the company is focusing on a high level of localization (over 90%) of its components. It could also make use of the BR-V’s electronic and electrical architecture which helps in cost-cutting.
ETA of the midsize SUV
The midsize SUV is expected to come out around September 2023. For one of the biggest carmakers in the world, it is a long wait to add their first SUV to its Indian lineup. This is the result of the change in development path from a Compact SUV to a Midsize SUV.
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