Production of the 2018 Honda Civic and CR-V begins in India with launch slated for later this year.
Honda India will launch the new Civic and CR-V in India later this year. The vehicles were showcased at the recent 2018 Auto Expo and now production has also begun. The cars will be built at the company’s Greater Noida factory as CKD units.
While the Honda Civic saw huge takers in India, the CR-V didn’t get the same response. The new Civic has been on global sale since 2015. Honda also decided to skip a generation of the CR-V and the upcoming launch will see the 5th generation model coming to India.
Honda has already started the testing of three units of the Civic and a few units of the CR-V that were built in the Noida factory itself. Both the cars are slated to have bigger dimensions. The Civic will be 4644 mm in length, 1799 mm in width and 1416 mm in height. Meanwhile, the CR-V will no longer be sold as a 5-seater and instead will have an occupancy of 7 people.
Both the cars will share the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine which will have a peak output power of 120 PS and 300 Nm of torque. Apart from this, the Civic will get an optional 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol engine which will produce 141 PS of power and 174 Nm of torque. The CR-V too will get a petrol engine in the form of a 2.4-litre i-VTEC unit. There will be an option of a 6-speed manual or a CVT gearbox to handle transmission duties.
With sedans like the Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia competing with it, will the 10th generation Civic show the same sales prowess like its predecessor and will the CR-V which competes with the likes of Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner be able to match its sedan cousin, only time will tell.
Honda Civic Production
– The cars will be built as completely knocked down (CKD) units
– Production of test vehicles completed, testing underway
– Both the vehicles are bigger and more powerful than their predecessors
Source – Team-BHP.com