Honda WR-V compact crossover demand soars: Sales cross 50,000 units in India

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL), the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Company, entered the compact crossover segment in March 2017. Honda launched the WR-V even though no other carmaker found success in the compact crossover segment till then. However, the WR-V was well-received and turned out to be a trendsetter.

The WR-V has over 3,000 units of monthly sales and it is one of the most sought-after models of the segment. A year down the line, the WR-V sales in India crossed 50,000 units.

Honda claims the WR-V has contributed 28 percent to HCIL's total sales in 2017-18. About 80 percent of the buyers of WR-V have chosen top-spec VX trim, the company claims. About 42 percent buyers bought petrol variants while 58 percent opted for the diesel variants. Tier 1 markets, comprising large cities, contributed to 38 percent of its nation-wide sales, Honda added.

Priced between Rs 7.78 lakh and Rs 9.99 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi, the WR-V draws power from a 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine, which can generate 90bhp power with a torque of 110Nm at 4,800rpm. The diesel option is the 1.5-liter i-DTEC motor that can pump 100bhp of power with 200Nm torque. 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.

"Honda WR-V has witnessed great success in the Indian market and the 50,000 sales milestone validates its strong presence. It has emerged as a strong volume model in Honda's model line-up striking the right chord among young urban customers who are looking for status, comfort and have an active lifestyle," said Yoichiro Ueno, President & CEO, HCIL.

Honda WR-V Edge edition

Honda has recently launched WR-V Edge edition, the new trim comes with a price tag of Rs 8.01 lakh for the petrol engine and Rs 9.01 lakh for the diesel (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Honda WR-V Edge edition is based on the S-trim of the model and comes with additional features such as 16-inch gunmetal finish multi-spoke alloy, a special edition Edge emblem, a rear camera with IRVM display and rear parking sensors. The special edition also gets Connect App as standard.