Taking on the likes of Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Ford EcoSport and other compact SUVs, Honda Cars India on Thursday launched seven-seater compact SUV BR-V priced between Rs8.75 lakh and Rs12.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
“With the launch of BR-V, we are getting into the fast-growing compact SUV segment. With its versatile features, we see a huge potential for the vehicle in the country,” said Honda Cars India (HCIl) President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno.
“India being a key market for Honda, the company is focusing on increasing its customer base with new model introductions”, Ueno added.
The compact SUV segment has been one of the best-performing segments in the Indian passenger vehicle market, growing at around 35 per cent for the past two years.
Talking about Indian market Ueno said the country has huge potential for growth but there are challenges.
“last year was tough for the industry, and growth was achieved mainly by new product launches and discounts,” Ueno said, marking out the rapid shift from diesel to petrol and introduction of infrastructure cess also impacting the industry.
“Despite all these challenges, we are confident of achieving strong growth in the current fiscal.”
The company also plans to expand its sales network to 340 dealerships in the current fiscal, from the current 298.
“It will help us penetrate into new regions and offer better services to customers,” Ueno said.
When asked about the next launch from the company in the coming months, Honda Cars India ltd (HCIl) Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said : “After the New Honda Amaze and BRV, The new Honda Accord Hybrid will be launched in India this festive season.”
The sale of petrol-only D-Segment sedan was stopped in India in late 2013 owing to poor demand but thanks to the incentives offered by the Government’s FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and Electric vehicles), the company is planning to relaunch its premium sedan in its latest avatar.