Honda is looking at increase its market share in the Indian market with the launch of new products such as the new Civic and CR-V. These two cars might not bring such an increase in volumes for Honda. The Japanese automaker is working on a compact MPV (codenamed 2NH), which will hit the markets by end-2014. This new MPV will rival Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga and will be based on the next-generation Jazz platform. It will feature 3-rows of seats and will be a 7-seater.
Honda already has a MPV which it sells in other Asian markets. Known as the Freed, the MPV is based on the current Jazz platform and the upcoming Honda MPV could very well be the next generation Freed. Powering the 2NH would be the City’s 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, while a 1.4 or 1.6-litre diesel will be offered as well. The diesel engines are currently under development and will also make their way into other Honda cars. The upcoming Honda MPV’s main market would be India and Indonesia, where pricing would be key. Power will come to the front wheels with both 5-speed automatic and CVT gearboxes being offered.
In order to price the 2NH aggressively, Honda will get rid of the sliding doors and replace them with conventional doors. The Jazz platform has excellent packaging and gives making interior room. Thus the new Honda MPV will be very well packaged, offering class leading space and room for passengers. Honda has confirmed that it plans to develop new products on the Brio and Jazz platform. This will help them in reducing the costs of production significantly.
Source – Autocar India
