Honda is believed to be working on a compact SUV and an A-segment car for the Indian market according to a report from the Economic Times. Both the vehicles are likely to be sub-four metres in length and will have petrol and diesel engine options.
The report suggests that much of the development for both vehicles will take place in India in a bid to localise the parts and obviously keep the costs down. The process has reached development stage but there is no word on when Honda will officially make an announcement in this regard. Honda also sees potential for this car to be successful in other markets in South East Asia and Africa and so has believed to have codenamed the A-Segment car ‘World A Entry Car’. These two vehicles are expected to be based on a modified Brio platform and likely to be launched in 2017.
We believe that Honda is looking to increase its volumes and has oriented itself to the A-segment (where there are volumes naturally) and the compact crossover segment which is expected to be the new a volumes giver in the market. Such forward thinking also means that Honda does not want a repeat of 2012 where it was left without a diesel model when the massive market shift took place.