[TusharK]

According to Gaku Nakanishi, President & CEO, Honda Cars India, the HR-V is still being considered for launch in India.



Nakanishi San has stated that the company needs an SUV that fits between the WR-V and CR-V. The price gap between the two models is about Rs. 20 lakh. This is where the HR-V could be positioned. Honda is studying that area and will decide on how and when to enter the Indian midsize SUV segment.

There have been talks of the HR-V coming to India for quite some time. Test mules of the midsize SUV have spotted testing in the past and select dealers have also been given a preview.

However, in August 2019, it was reported that Honda had shelved its plan to launch the model in India. The report stated that Honda had achieved around 30% localisation. However, with 70% of parts still imported, the company would have been at a disadvantage in terms of its pricing. Honda also had to revise its sales projection from 12,000 units to 8,000 units due to a weak market.

Source

Link to Team-BHP News

[sv97]

I think Honda is being too optimistic having 8,000 units as a sales projection because that is the number the Korean siblings are achieving and that too when the products are loaded with features which Honda won't be able to match at a similar price.

[loki]

Originally Posted by sv97

I think Honda is being too optimistic having 8,000 units as a sales projection

I think thats a per annum figure.

Honda are slowly trending towards irrelevance in our market. The Koreans are being considered more 'premium' these days which was Honda's play at one point.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by TusharK

According to Gaku Nakanishi, President & CEO, Honda Cars India, the HR-V is still being considered for launch in India.

While they are at "considering things" - I think they should also consider how the HR-V looks in comparisons with the cars that it will compete with. Viz. Seltos, Creta, Harrier, XUV5OO, And some lower trims of Compass. These cars will give them an idea of how the Indian customers prefer their SUV to look like. And it will aid in the decision of whether or not to launch what is now an old car. (Considering the long duration of just speculation of whether to launch or not - its old on paper already!)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I hope they are talking of the next generation. The current version looks extremely dated now, six years since its unveil.

Originally Posted by sv97

I think Honda is being too optimistic having 8,000 units as a sales projection because that is the number the Korean siblings are achieving and that too when the products are loaded with features which Honda won't be able to match at a similar price.

Originally Posted by loki

I think thats a per annum figure.

Has to be the annual figure. Even Amaze (their best seller by far) sold an average of only about 5k units last year.

8000 per year is still a respectable figure if we look at Honda sales charts.

[RaceHorse]

2016:

Honda HR-V to be launched in India in 2017
https://www.zigwheels.com/news-featu...in-2017/24880/

2018:

Honda HR-V India launch: The truth behind Honda’s Hyundai Creta rival and why it might not launch next year
https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...-year/1286244/

April 2019:

Honda HR-V displayed to dealers in India, to be launched this year - Report
https://indianautosblog.com/honda-hr...report-p317122

June 2019:

Honda HR-V Spotted Testing On Indian Roads, Launch Expected Soon
https://gaadiwaadi.com/honda-hr-v-sp...expected-soon/

August 2019:

Honda HR-V India launch plans axed
https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...ns-axed-413951

July 2020:

The HR-V may fit the midsize SUV space: Honda Cars India
https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...-home/2029215/

Whats next in the news?
Honda to finally launch HR-V in 2021 or Honda is considering HR-V to launch in 2022

[loki]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

While they are at "considering things" - I think they should also consider how the HR-V looks in comparisons with the cars that it will compete with. Viz. Seltos, Creta, Harrier, XUV5OO, And some lower trims of Compass. These cars will give them an idea of how the Indian customers prefer their SUV to look like.

My thoughts exactly. While the current-gen HRV's design works in developed markets, it's swoopy/ slopey rear end wont work against the direct competition here in India - which are more squarish. One of the reasons why the Captur flopped (and the Kicks) while the old Duster sold more units relatively.

The Seltos/ Creta et al arguably pull off the SUV look better even though they are crossovers. They have some butch-looking SUVs in the US - Honda Passport, Honda Pilot. Hope what they are planning to launch (Gods knows when) is a scaled down version of these instead of a swoopy hatchback on stilts which the current HR-V is.

[narayan]

HRV interiors are quite average. Size is on par with Creta. Exterior is sedate (no jazz like the Koreans ). Will Honda price it at Creta levels or a premium ? That, in large measure will decide the success of this model. I think Honda should skip this. Rather bring in models like Stream or Freed which will do much better in those segments

[TheGearBox]

I, for one, am very keen on seeing a Creta/Seltos rival to arrive from the Honda stable, be it the HR-v or some other model. It would be nice to have some more choices in the segment in which the default choice for nearly five years has been the Creta, now joined by the Seltos. (Nobody remembers the Nissan Kicks and the now-discontinued Renault Captur )
I have absolutely nothing against the Korean siblings, in fact I really like them. But being the owner of a Brio, I am curious to see how Honda plays the game at this level. True, their model will probably be more expensive than the Koreans. But then, the City is also the most expensive car in its segment and it is still the best seller. (Atleast, the 4th gen was. We'll have to wait and see how the 5th gen City fares in the market)

[CEF_Beasts]

Spotted in Honda's Rajasthan Factory in March 2020.

Source: https://www.motorbeam.com/honda-hr-v...a-launch-soon/

[Anjadekar]

I, for one, find the branding of these Honda cars to be beyond confusing. How is one to keep track of, let alone differentiate, between BR-V, CR-V, WR-V, and now HR-V?! Surely they need better names? The BR-V, WR-V and HR-V look very similar in pictures too! *searches for exploding head emoji*

[HKap]

Honda (as a company) needs a serious refresh in India. One of the ways of doing this is by launching hybrid vehicles. Forget the diesels... there is no fuel subsidy available anymore. The diesel car's only advantage over its petrol powered sibling is fuel economy. You can match or better that with a hybrid and it will be cleaner too. Better yet, make it a plug in hybrid. Imagine if you could eek out 50-60 kms on pure electric and drive it like a regular hybrid after the battery is out of juice. They have the technology. They can either wait and become irrelevant or grab the bull by its horns and go all out. Change the game!

[motorworks]

I think the answer behind Honda contemplating on the possible launch of the HR-V is simple, while most articles mention the HR-V to be Creta or a Seltos rival, in reality its one segment higher, almost at par with the Jeep Compass and the volumes there are not promising. Secondly, purely from a dimensions point of view, the HR-V is no bigger than a Creta or a Seltos. And the Koreans have already upped the game in terms of engines & gearbox combinations, feel good features etc. So how can Honda possibly position the HR-V at a premium, above these cars, with similar dimensions and engine capacity? If im not wrong, the Compass , Harrier are all significantly longer and bigger than the Creta, Seltos etc and they are also probably better built. So they sort of get to command that kind of premium. Either Honda has to have VW kind of build and engineering to pull off a higher pricing even with a lower size, like the T-Roc, else they need to heavily localise and bring it at least at par with the mid to top end models of the Creta and the Seltos. Or they can just keep waiting.

[CARDEEP]

They could have launched it with 1.8 liter petrol (manual transmission included). For it could give them the reason to price it over Creta & manage little bit of economies of scale re the bigger block.

Don't know what their Finance team is smoking as they are operating much below optimum production (even lesser than 50% of the sanctioned/ installed capacity). IMO (as a former group Finance Head in a smaller group) wastage of capacity is a long term loss than not achievement of sales targets. They could have done an Amaze in this segment (Amaze 2nd gen achieved more success over 1st gen) with the facelift.

Moreover, it helps to retain few loyal customers who eventually spread the good word.

Lastly, the biggest dilemma for Honda management is 1.5 turbo, as they feel their turbo petrol engines are not made for India & fuel quality can harm their engines more than other auto makers' engines.

[John316_WRC]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Honda is studying that area and will decide on how and when to enter the Indian midsize SUV segment.

Honda also had to revise its sales projection from 12,000 units to 8,000 units due to a weak market.

By the time Honda finishes "studying and decides how and when to enter the mid size SUV segment" - I believe my granddaughter/grandson will have already bought a Creta/Seltos.

Weak market?! - the Creta & Seltos combined sold 14,300+ units this June, remember this is during a global pandemic, with the economy at an all time low, people losing jobs or facing salary cuts. Honda has run out of excuses.

And I'm sorry if this sounds like a rant, - Honda should first give us the WRV with the 1.5 iVTEC & then talk about launching the HRV or whatever other imaginary Creta rival they can come up with!