Almost 7,000 units of Honda Elevate SUV shipped to Japan

Key Highlights

• Honda Elevate is sold in Japan as the WR-V.
• The Japanese version of the SUV gets an anti-theft alert and in-car WiFi.
• However, it missed out on an electric sunroof and wireless charging.

Honda Elevate was launched in India on September 4 at a starting price of Rs 11 lakh. Since its launch, the midsize SUV has garnered a lot of popularity in the country. Within 100 days of its launch, 20,000 units of the Elevate had been sold in India. Last year, the automaker revealed its plans to launch the Elevate in Japan as the WR-V. Since then, Honda has exported 6,809 units of the SUV to its native country.

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Honda Elevate: Disrupting the midsize SUV segment

Since its launch in September, Honda Elevate has been a vehement success in India. Out of the 79,513 Honda cars shipped to dealerships between August 2023 and February 2024, 30,365 have been Elevate. This makes the Elevate SUV Honda’s second-bestselling car in India during this time period.

In February 2024, Honda registered monthly domestic sales of 7,142 units. This is a 17% growth compared to last year. The automaker also exported a total of 5,936 units from India. This is the highest-ever monthly export volume in the automaker’s history in India. In February 2023, Honda sold 6,086 units domestically and exported 973.

Sharing thoughts on Feb’24 sales performance, Mr. Yuichi Murata, Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “Our performance in February has been as per our plan. The Honda Elevate maintains its strong performance, further strengthening its presence in the market. The Honda City and Amaze also continue to perform well in their respective segments. In addition, our export performance has also been robust.”

Powering the Honda Elevate is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces a maximum power output of 121hp and 145Nm of torque. This engine can be mated to a 6-speed manual or a CVT automatic gearbox. Manual variants of Honda Elevate offer a fuel efficiency of 15.31kmpl while the CVT variants put up a mileage of 16.92kmpl.

Honda Elevate packs features like a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a single-pane sunroof, an 8-speaker surround sound system, and a Honda Sensing ADAS package. Its entry-level variants get basic features like an automatic AC unit, beige upholstery, dual airbags, push start/stop button, and more. In January, Honda hiked the prices for the Elevate by Rs 58,000, bringing its starting price to Rs 11.58 lakh.

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Conclusion

Honda plans to export up to 50,000 units of the Elevate to Japan by the end of 2024. The Japanese version of the SUV gets in-car WiFi and anti-theft detection but misses out on an electric sunroof and wireless charging. In India, prices for the Honda Elevate start at Rs 11.58 lakh and go up to Rs 16.20 lakh. It rivals other midsize SUVs like the Hyundai Creta, Volkswagen Taigun, Kia Seltos, Citroen C3 Aircross, Toyota Urban Cruiser HyRyder, and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara.