The Indian utility vehicle maker, ICML famous for its Sonalika brand is rumoured to likely another SUV to the Indian auto market. This time, it might be the Hava H5. The Haval H5 SUV is actually manufactured by Great Wall Motors, the Chinese automobile manufacturer and this car was spotted on test in Chandigarh. It is most likely that ICML was carrying out development tests before launching the vehicle in the market. Currently, ICML just sells the Sonalika Rhino SUV in the market. Great Wall Motors sells the Haval H5 SUV under the name of X240 in some international markets too. Great Wall Motors is also planning to launch the Haval H5 in the US market.
The Haval H5 is powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine which produces 134 BHP of power and 20.3 KGM of torque. The 2.5-litre diesel engine produces 107 BHP of power and 30.5 KGM of torque. The Haval H5 comes with the choice of two transmission boxes; a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed manual depending on the model. An automatic variant is also offered. Power flow to the wheels is done in two configurations; a 4X2 or a 4X4 version. The Haval H5 is sold with a 5-seater or a 7-seater layout. It measures 4969 mm in length, 1810 mm in width and 1735 mm in height. With a wheelbase of 2700 mm, the Haval H5 SUV will rival the Mahindra XUV500, the recently launched Tata Safari Storme, the Tata Aria and the Force One.
The Rhino SUV has not been very successful. Agreed it has filed the void in the taxi segment, which the Toyota Qualis left but to sell a taxi is one thing and to sell a Rs. 14 lakh SUV is another thing altogether. Tata Motors has not been able to sell the Tata Aria, even though the company has a fantastic dealership network, so for ICML to sell the Haval is certainly not going to be easy. Add to that Indians are smart and don’t take to Chinese vehicles so easily. Factoring this, ICML needs to do something drastic, something out of the box, else we have another Force One in the making!
Source – Autocar India
