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Honda Australia looking to fill the gap below HR-V

Honda Australia is looking to fill the gap below the popular Honda HR-V small SUV because, presumably, it’s not small enough for some consumers.


The HR-V is one of the larger small SUVs in the segment, with other competitors like the Mazda CX-3 and Suzuki Ignis (if you can call it an SUV) being dwarfed by Honda’s current smallest SUV.

In markets such as South America and India, Honda has a couple of different small SUV/crossover models that do exactly the job the brand is hoping to find a new vehicle for.

The WR-V and BR-V are properly compact SUVs: The WR-V is based on the Jazz and with proportions that closely mirror that light car, while the BR-V is a bit larger, based on the basic Brio compact car.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins says this new sub-small SUV pocket is going to be the next one that will need to be filled, as more and more consumers look to vehicles with higher seating positions and ride heights, even at the expense of interior space and practicality. The CX-3 is selling in big numbers, after all…

“We believe that over the next little while that probably the next segment to grow will be smaller SUVs again,” Collins said. “So, smaller than HR-V. Over the next few years, that will start to emerge as a growth segment.

“There’s a couple of global models that don’t quite stack up for us at the moment. Right now the BR-V and WR-V are specifically for emerging markets,” he said, indicating those vehicles wouldn’t meet Australian safety requirements.

“But it doesn't mean the next generation won’t fit the bill. It’s definitely on the radar, and we’ll see what happens in the next-generation of cars,” he said. “I don’t want to put a time on it, but it’s not in the next year or so – it would be after that.”

Collins confirmed that he is ruling out the WR-V and BR-V for Australia – for now.

“In the current generation, yes. But in the next generation, who knows.”

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