Honda will be launching the BR-V in India in April 2016 and the vehicle will be manufactured at their Tapukara plant. The BR-V will get a 1.6-litre diesel engine.
Honda showcased the upcoming BR-V SUV in Indonesia just recently and the vehicle has had a good start over there. The SUV will be unveiled to the public in India at the 2016 Auto Expo and its official launch will follow in April itself. The BR-V will be positioned in the Rs. 10-15 lakhs segment and it has a host of rivals to fight it out with. The compact SUV will be manufactured at the Japanese automaker’s plant in Tapukara.
The Tapukara plant has an annual production capacity of 1.2 lakh units which will be upped to 1.8 lakhs per annum by April. Honda is slated to produce around 36,000 units of the BR-V annually and production will begin in April. Apart from the BR-V, the automaker also produces the Jazz, City and Amaze at the Tapukara plant while the other cars from the company’s stable are manufactured at the company’s older plant in Greater Noida.
The Honda BR-V will be offered with both petrol as well as diesel engines. The petrol engine will be a 1.5-litre unit while the diesel motor will be a new 1.6-litre unit. Currently, Honda sells the Amaze, City, Mobilio and Jazz with the 1.5-litre EarthDreams diesel engine but the BR-V will benefit from the new engine. Honda has sold over 1 lakh cars with the 1.5-litre oil-burner in India. The carmaker has developed a 1.6-litre oil-burner for the CR-V (produces 160 PS and 350 Nm) for global markets but it is not clear whether the same engine will receive any tweaks for the Indian market.
The Honda BR-V will be launched in a very competitive segment and it will be fighting it out with the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Hyundai Creta and Mahindra XUV500. The XUV500 is selling in decent numbers while Hyundai has also tasted success with the Creta. Honda has a good understanding of the Indian market and they surely know that pricing is the key. The BR-V can be a huge hit if the automaker doesn’t go too optimistic with the pricing, since people have always held Honda on good terms when it comes to snob value, after-sales and reliability.
Source – AutocarPro.in
