To help improve the demand, Honda is expected to launch a new base variant for the CR-V in the next two to three weeks
UPDATE: Honda Cars India has responded on this story – ”HCIL does not plan to launch a new base variant of the Honda CR-V ”
—–ORIGINAL STORY——
Honda Cars India sells the CR-V in a single two-wheel-drive petrol CVT automatic variant with a price tag of Rs. 28.27 lakh (ex-showroom). The premium SUV made its local debut at the 2018 Auto Expo before going on sale in October in both petrol and diesel engine options. The latter was offered with both two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations.
With the fifth generation Honda CR-V facing a low demand in the domestic market, it could get a new base variant. To make matters more attractive, the Japanese auto major will introduce a new entry-level variant with the absence of some premium features offered in the petrol CVT currently.
Honda discontinued the five-seater diesel engine along with the AWD system earlier this year. The CR-V used to be sold with a 1.6-litre i-DTEC four-cylinder diesel engine in five-seater and seven-seater layouts and the seven-seater was not elected to be available in the petrol variant. The 2.0-litre i-VTEC naturally-aspirated four-cylinder SOHC petrol engine produces 154 PS of maximum power and 189 Nm of peak torque.
The new variant likely to launched in the next two to three weeks as per our sources. Lowering the entry-level price could help in the CR-V getting more attention among customers as it has been deemed expensive since its re-entry into India. The new variant will likely come devoid of key features like LaneWatch tech, sunroof, remote engine start, LED headlamps, etc.
Honda has the new-gen City and Amaze as its top-selling products in India. Last month, Honda sold a total of 10,199 units as against 9,301 units during the same period in 2019 with Year-on-Year sales increase of 9.7 per cent. It finished sixth in the overall manufacturers’ table with 3.5 per cent market share.