Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), a completely owned subsidiary of Japanese multinational automobile giant Honda Motor Company, has revealed intentions to begin localised assembly operations of its CR-V Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the domestic market. The company is going to introduce 2013 CR-V model (in its fourth generation avatar) on Indian turf, somewhere in February 2013. Accordingly, the local assembly of the vehicle will help the auto maker in cutback of taxes and keeping the price of CR-V competitive in the market.
The erstwhile Honda CR-V SUV was offered to domestic utility vehicle enthusiasts within a price bracket of Rs. 22.9 lakhs to Rs. 25.2 lakhs in the Indian passenger car market. Accordingly, many car lovers found the pricing of Honda CR-V slightly steep and poor for a SUV incorporating a petrol powertrain under its hood. Additionally, the previous CR-V model was retailed on domestic turf via Completely Built Unit (CBU) route from Japan, which resulted in its exorbitant pricing. Hence, industry experts believe that Honda's local assembly plans of CR-V seem in good faith and definitely promising, besides also could drive sales for the company in the utility vehicle segment of Indian auto market.
Upon its launch in India, the 2013 Honda CR-V SUV will be pitched in an intense face off against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Outlander, Chevrolet Captiva, Hyundai Santa Fe, Renault Koleos, Nissan X-Trail and Mahindra SsangYong Rexton. At present, Toyota Fortuner is the undisputed champion of Indian utility vehicle market and has garnered a great deal of respect and popularity among domestic audience. Evidently, the yet-to-be launched Honda CR-V has a mountain to climb, if it intends to replace Fortuner as the best selling premium SUV in the country.
Speaking of under-the-hood configuration of upcoming 2013 Honda CR-V, the stylish SUV is anticipated to come powered with two petrol options- one featuring a 2.0 litre motor and other with a 2.4 litre motor. With absolutely no questions being asked about the stunning looks of Honda CR-V, the stylish SUV failed to strike right chords with domestic car enthusiasts. Lack of diesel engine option and exorbitant pricing were the main culprits. As per reports, HCIL managed to sell just 186 units of its SUV in the ongoing 2012-13 financial year. The lack of demand and unimpressive sales led the Japanese auto major to stop imports of CR-V from Japan in the Indian auto market, last September.
The Honda CR-V sales kept sinking to one low after another, because of its steep pricing coupled with missing diesel powered variant. Hence, in order to lure domestic car aficionados towards its retail outlets, Honda Cars India must keep the pricing of its CR-V SUV within tolerable limits, so as to compensate for its missing diesel trim level. The localised assembly and competitive pricing could make yet-to-be launched CR-V an appealing proposition to Indian audience, in the myriad of other SUVs available in the segment.
