Rs 9 Lakh Honda SUVs in Trouble Before Launch?

In the Indian market, Honda is struggling to remain competitive. Its decision to stay mostly with sedans has obviously worked against the brand. Honda is developing new SUVs, especially for developing countries like India, in an effort to reduce the heat. These SUVs will compete against well-known vehicles like the Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon, respectively. Honda SUVs are likely to overlook a crucial element that might have given them a competitive advantage in their respective classes, nevertheless, even before the introduction. What is this crucial item? The diesel engine choice is it. Let's discuss about the Rs 9 lakh Honda SUV in this post and how missing a diesel engine might cause problems for this SUV.

What exactly is the issue?

In a recent article, Times Of India stated that Honda intended to stop producing its 1.5-liter diesel engine. Why is Honda acting in this way? It appears to be related to the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) rules that will take effect in April 2023. Vehicles would need to attain emissions in the real world in order to comply with the new requirements. With the present engines, Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO of Honda Cars India, asserts that it would be challenging to pass RDE regulations.

Rs 9 lakh Honda SUV - Consequences

Given that the pollution standards are set to take effect in April 2023, Honda's next SUV could not have a diesel engine. Due to their high mileage & torque numbers, diesel cars are still quite popular in the SUV market even if they are growing more costly. Therefore, the lack of a diesel engine may significantly disadvantage this SUV when compared to the Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, and Kia Sonet. Honda might increase the number of hybrid and electric vehicles sold to offset this.

Honda would now be a late entrant in the market. In this market, there are already a lot of manufacturers with products, therefore Honda ought to have tried to provide as many benefits as it could. Honda can experience a decline in sales if the diesel engine is discontinued. Contrarily, they are only preliminary reports, and we must await additional confirmation.

What further details are there regarding this SUV?

Honda is constructing two new SUVs for the Indian market, as is well known. The first of them will be a small SUV that will compete with vehicles like the Tata Nexon and the Hyundai Venue, among others. This vehicle will reportedly be built on the Amaze platform, according to reports. It might share most of its mechanical components with the Amaze in addition to the platform. At the GIIAS in June, Honda also unveiled the car's silhouette (GAIKINDO Indonesia International Auto Show).

This SUV is expected to debut sometime in the following year.

Would Honda be wise to quit selling diesel engines? Please tell us in the comments.