In the next eight years, Honda Cars India, which reorganised its manufacturing operations following the pandemic and generated a profit for two years running, is now planning to launch five new SUVs, beginning with the brand-new Elevate SUV. The firm recently confirmed that the upcoming models from the brand will also include electrified versions. For those unaware, the Elevate, Honda's much-awaited model and the only SUV to be included in its India lineup for now, was unveiled on Tuesday in Delhi. Upon launch, it will compete with rivals like the Hyundai Creta, the Kia Seltos, and the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Bookings for the Elevate will commence in July, and it is set to go on sale in the festive season. Takuya Tsumura, President & Chief Executive Officer of Honda Cars India, revealed that while the company has no immediate plans to release a hybrid version of the Elevate (it already offers a hybrid version of the City sedan), an electric version of the vehicle would be built on the model. Let's now take a further look at the Japanese auto major's future plans for India.
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Honda Cars India's Future Plans
Giving a much clear picture of the brand's future strategies for the Indian market, Takuya Tsumura commented, "We have planned a very robust product strategy for India. We plan to have five SUVs by 2030. While India will be a lead market for the Elevate, it will also be a key export hub for the model in the future. Honda Cars India also plans to bring the electric version of Elevate to the market in the next three years."
The manufacturer had earlier indicated that it will bring one new model to India each year, including hybrid and electric vehicles. It is once again looking at the possibility of bringing in premium vehicles via the CBU and CKD route to India in order to strengthen the Honda brand in the nation.
Honda Elevate: Powertrain, Platform, and Interior Features
Speaking of the powertrain details of the Elevate, the Global Small Car platform used by the Japanese manufacturer, which also supports the Honda City car, is the foundation for the new SUV. The car's 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine churns out 121bhp of maximum power and 145Nm of peak torque. Either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a CVT may be used to transmit power to the front wheels.
Coming to the features, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system is available for the Elevate. It only has a single-pane sunroof compared to the other three of its eight competitors, which all have panoramic sunroofs. This luxury feature will soon be added to the forthcoming Kia Seltos facelift, which currently has a single-pane sunroof. Besides this, the SUV comes equipped with a rear parking camera, wireless charging, a lane-watch camera, a 7-inch semi-digital instrument cluster, and a wireless smartphone connection with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Honda Elevate: Safety Features
With features including a collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, road departure warning, and automatic high beam assist, Honda will also include its Sensing ADAS suite in the Elevate. The MG Astor is the only other midsize SUV with ADAS at the moment.
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Honda Elevate: Exterior Design
The Elevate resembles the CR-V marketed abroad quite a bit in terms of appearance. The Elevate is comparable in size to the Creta at 4,312mm in length, 1,790mm in width, 1,650mm in height, and 2,650mm in wheelbase. Moreover, it has 220mm of ground clearance and a boot capacity of 458 litres; the Creta has 190mm ground clearance. With regard to styling, the Elevate has a broad grille, a flat snout, two fog lamps beneath, and a large Honda logo in the centre. The headlights are thin, LEDs and the grille and nose are also flat. Like the City, the headlamps and the LED daytime running lamps are joined by a substantial chrome strip.
The midsize SUV has slightly flared wheel arches on the side that are covered in thick plastic cladding, giving it a bulky SUV appearance. The window line tapers upward towards the large C-pillar. The 17-inch alloy wheels on the Elevate have a similar style to those on the redesigned City. It has a slightly sloped rear windscreen and wraparound taillights that resemble those on the most recent generation WR-V marketed in countries like Indonesia. The taillights are joined by a red bar. The housing for the licence plate has an indentation on the tailgate as well.
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