Honda to go premium in India with upcoming WR-V compact SUV, new Civic launches

Honda's attempt to crack mass-market didn't go as envisaged and hence, the brand's plans switch to its traditional stronghold.

Japanese car maker Honda's Indian subsidiary Honda Cars India has been struggling with dwindling sale for the last 15 months in a row. In order to turn around the sale, the company seems to realign its focus from mass market cars to the premium-end ones.

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The company has just given a nip and tuck to its workhorse, the City. It will also drive in a new compact SUV, WR-V based on the Jazz platform, Yoichiro Ueno, MD & CEO of the Indian subsidiary, told TOI. The company is also keen to bring back Civic, one of the most-recognisable cars from of brand. The bottom line of all new launches is to go premium while maintaining a balance from luxury.

According to Ueno, Honda attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with minicar model like Brio. But the success in the segment, which is the domain of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, is not as successful as envisaged. "We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning, which is a bit more premium though not luxury. So, we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai. We would like to do that in terms of products, service, and customer experience," Ueno added.

Among the two new launches, the WR-V compact SUV is expected to enter market during March-April. The model has hit the production line at its facility in Rajasthan's Tapukara already. Honda has incorporated all the essence of an SUV and crossover such as body claddings, sliver skid plates and higher ground clearance in the WR-V. Apart from the underpinnings, the WR-V will also share the powertrains of the Jazz. Hence, the WR-V is expected with 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel motor.

Honda Civic may come back to India — Honda Civichonda.asia/media

The Civic, on the other hand, was discontinued from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel. With the renewed interest on the petrol models, the model may come back in new avatar. To be positioned between City sedan and the Accord, the Civic will take on the likes of Chevrolet Cruze, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla and Volkswagen Jetta. It is expected to be brought to the country as a completely knock down (CKD) unit and would be assembled at the company's Tapukara plant in Rajasthan.