Riding on the strengths of Japanese engineering, the Honda Elevate has the potential to make a mark in India’s fast-growing midsize SUV market even as the Japanese carmaker chalks out plans to introduce more hybrids and EVs soon.
16 Feb 2024 | 2795 Views | By Ketan Thakkar and Amit Vijay M
Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) is all set to drive into the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) segment’s midsize SUV category with its latest and long-awaited product – the Honda Elevate – which will be launched in the first week of September. Built on the fifth-generation Honda City platform, the Elevate ...
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Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) is all set to drive into the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) segment’s midsize SUV category with its latest and long-awaited product – the Honda Elevate – which will be launched in the first week of September. Built on the fifth-generation Honda City platform, the Elevate stands tall with 220mm of ground clearance, giving it the much-needed credentials to classify as an SUV on Indian roads.
The company, which is banking on good demand coming its way for the Elevate, has commenced production at its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan and has increased the overall daily production from 540 units to 660 units at this 180,000-unit annual capacity facility. HCIL, whose target buyer for the Elevate is the young customer in the 26- to 45-year age bracket, is bullish on the new SUV becoming its third pillar of strength, after the two sedans – City and Amaze – in its portfolio. These two sedans currently sell around 5,000 units a month.
“The Elevate aims to cater to the fast-growing needs of SUVs the world over, and India is the first market to get the latest from Honda,” Yuichi Murata, Director, Marketing and Sales, HCIL, said at the Elevate’s media drive event in Udaipur last week.
“We have received an overwhelming response of over two million visits on the product website since the unveiling of the Elevate earlier in June. We are now working to build an impressive line-up of future products, especially premium SUVs,” he added.
HCIL plans to introduce one new product including facelifts every year, starting with the Elevate in 2023, for the next five years. Acknowledging the growing demand for SUVs in India, Honda will introduce five new SUVs by 2030. The company is admittedly pushing its boundaries to fast-track the launch of an EV on the Elevate platform within the next three years. In line with its global net-zero vision, HCIL will also bring Honda’s global offerings – hybrid as well as EVs – to India.
It is understood that the need to stay on course with its CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) targets, Honda aims to first roll out an EV based on the Elevate, but will also introduce products with its e:HEV hybrid powertrain technology in future. It is likely that HCIL could bring its CR-V hybrid in India as a CBU, taking benefit of the government’s policies to import up to 2,500 units without the need for homologation.