Takuya Tsumura, president of Honda Cars India reiterated that the Elevate-based EV will be one of the five SUVs coming to India by 2030
Honda Cars India will only bring in new SUVs to the domestic market according to Toshihiro Mibe, president, CEO and representative director, Honda Motor Company. The Japanese auto major has certainly been late to the party as the Elevate midsize SUV was only introduced a few months ago and until then, the majority of its volumes were driven by Amaze and City sedans.
Mibe noted that Honda is focussing on achieving carbon neutrality globally by 2040 and it has set itself different milestones before getting there. He acknowledged the significance of the Indian market for Honda and the “rapidly progressing” electrification for cars and two-wheelers. Takuya Tsumura, president of Honda Cars India reiterated that the Elevate-based EV will be one of the five SUVs coming to India by 2030.
The first all-electric Honda vehicle, which is the midsize SUV based on the Elevate, will arrive within the next three years. The implementation of more stringent emission standards led to Honda discontinuing many models including the Brio small hatchback, Jazz premium hatch and WR-V compact SUV. As part of the restructuring, the CR-V and Civic were also let go only a while after their comeback.
Honda is certainly banking big on the Elevate and it has been competitively priced to take on Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor, VW Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and others. It aims to increase the domestic sales volume by 35 per cent in the second half of this financial year with the help of Elevate.
In terms of global sales, India is ranked number seven for Honda. The company is open to technical partnerships to accelerate developments in the electrification department. In the overseas markets, Honda has joined hands with General Motors to bring up a host of affordable EVs but the plans have been backtracked now.
As for India, we do expect Honda to launch a sub-four-metre SUV in the coming years due to the popularity of the segment and the existing sedan duo, the City and Amaze, will get updates. The latter is widely speculated to receive a brand new avatar in 2024 and considering its popularity, India could be one of the first markets to get the model.