Honda exports first lot of Jazz Cross (2FM) to Japan; WR-V trademark has been applied in India
The news of Honda Cars India starting production of the Honda Jazz based Crossover’s prototype codenamed as 2FM locally was revealed by us a few days back. Adding more fuel to the fire, we can confirm that the Indian arm of the Japanese automaker is exporting the initial lot of Jazz-based crossover to Japan.
More significantly, the trademark for the Jazz based vehicle has been applied and as predicted before it’s the WR-V moniker to stand in line with CR-V and BR-V names. Internally codenamed as 2FM, the testing of the new model will begin on Indian roads soon ahead of a potential launch in the next fiscal.
More details will come to light in the coming months as the WR-V has already been caught on tests in international markets recently. Here we have posted artists’ impressions found on the web for your better understanding. The WR-V has been tipped to play a pivotal part in the resurgence of the Honda brand’s sales in India.
The crossover will be based on the Honda Jazz (known as Honda Fit internationally) and is to be slotted below the BR-V in the product lineup. The premium hatchback segment gave rise to a variety of crossover models such as the Volkswagen Polo Cross, Toyota Etios Cross and the successfully-running Hyundai i20 Active.
The Brazilian mass market carries plenty of potential as a volume selling crossover space and thus Honda is reported to introduce the new model at the forthcoming 2016 Sao Paulo Auto Show scheduled for November. For India, the proven 1.2 petrol and 1.5 diesel from Jazz are likely to be carried forward with improved fuel economy.
As for the powerplant, the Honda WR-V crossover in global markets will most probably get a 1.5-litre i-VTEC FlexOne (petrol/ethanol) engine adopted from the Fit. It will be linked with a standard five-speed manual or optional CVT automatic gearbox driving the front wheels. The motor produces 115 hp of maximum power output and 149 Nm of peak torque.
Image source: AutoSegredos and QuatroRodas Brasil
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