Honda Cars India to focus on domestic market, WR-V for Brazil to be made in South America

Honda has also made it clear that the company has not decided yet on the launch of the new Civic in India as the company is still analysing the said segment and requirements.

WR-V, WR-V export, WR-V India, WR-V price — WR-VPR Handout

Amidst reports of Honda gearing up to export its new compact SUV, the WR-V, from India to markets like Brazil, the company has now confirmed that the current focus of the Japanese carmaker's Indian arm will be the domestic market.

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The WR-V, the global model of Honda will also be made in South America, which will cater to the Brazilian market. On launching the new Civic premium sedan in India, the company clarified that it has not taken a call yet on the launch of the model and is currently evaluating the customer requirements.

India is the first market of Honda to launch the WR-V and also to manufacture the model. Launched in India on March 16, the WR-V is pitted against Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Ford EcoSport in the compact SUV segment. And the WR-V is also seen as a contender in the crossover market and there it goes up against Hyundai i20 Active, Toyota Etios Cross and Fiat Avventura.

"HCIL (Honda Cars India Ltd) is focusing on the domestic Indian market for WR-V sales as of now. WR-V is a global model and it will be manufactured locally in South America for the Brazilian market", a report of PTI quoted the company.

In India, the WR-V has been priced starting at Rs 7.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). It has already garnered over 3,000 bookings. Under the hood, the new WR-V packs petrol and diesel engines.

While a 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine, which can generate power of 90bhp with a torque of 110Nm at 4,800rpm will power the petrol models, a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel motor that can pump 100bhp of power with 200Nm torque will do the duty in the diesel version of the WR-V. The transmission in the petrol variant is taken care of by a five-speed manual gearbox, while the diesel model gets a six-speed gearbox.