Honda likely to roll out a compact SUV in India

Looks like, compact SUV segment is the most sought-after of late.  The topmost car manufacturers are eyeing this segment and Honda Motors is one of those to jump on the bandwagon. Honda Motors is aggressively trying to develop a potential competitor of Nissan Qashqai, which has done exceptionally well in the European markets. So does Honda plan to develop this model for European markets alone, or do they have plans for India lurking behind as well is an interesting point to find out.

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All we know is Honda’s chief Executive officer Takanobu Ito has made a vague comment about the success the Nissan Qashqai, which has led to many speculations. Honda Motors might have a 1.6 L diesel engine quite handy to power the proposed SUV. While Nissan Qashqai is one competitor in Europe, there are numerous cropping up from every corner in the Indian car market. Ford Motors is almost ready, on the brink of announcement regarding the new Ford EcoSport. Maruti India on the other hand, has a new compact SUV concept right up on its sleeve for a display at the 2012 Auto Expo.

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Renault and Nissan both will have their own versions of Duster SUV by mid 2012. So, isn’t it high time to have its own entity in the compact SUV segment from Honda in India as well? Nissan Qashqai also known as Nissan Dualis in Japan and Australia markets, is offered in both petrol and diesel trims. Probably, this is why, Honda Motors is also considering a diesel engine for the proposed Honda compact crossover. However, its too early to draw any conclusions on the price or other engine specifications for the new Honda SUV. There is no dearth of petrol engines for Honda where the entire line-up of Honda India is literally fraught with nothing but petrol engines.

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But, what Honda lacks where India car market is concerned is the lack of one, a diesel car and two, an SUV with a diesel heart. Though Honda CR-V undeniably has its own place in the India car market, it's not often we see an SUV without a diesel engine option. So, if the new compact SUV plan does really work out, then Honda Motors will be killing two birds with a single stone. Logically, it would make a load of sense if the Honda India considers the new SUV for domestic car market, now that there is enough competition building up in the domestic car market as well.

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