Honda set to launch new SUV in Thailand
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Honda set to launch new SUV in Thailand

Pitak Pruittisarikorn with the Honda BR-V for the Thai market.
Pitak Pruittisarikorn with the Honda BR-V for the Thai market.

Japanese car maker Honda Automobile (Thailand) is revving up its plan to tap into the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment, with the Honda BR-V scheduled for sale here in the first quarter of next year.

The arrival of the new model will follow the success of the mid-sized HR-V launched locally last November, chief operating officer Pitak Pruittisarikorn told Asean motoring journalists testing a prototype of the Honda model at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan on Tuesday.

The BR-V, which is smaller than the two Honda SUV models available in Thailand, the HR-V and CR-V, will fulfil Honda's aim of meeting Thai customer demand at all levels, he said.

Honda's sales of the CR-V and HR-V totalled 24,259 units in the first nine months of this year, up 280%. Its SUV sales represented 64% of 38,575 SUVs sold in the Thai market, which rose 28.4%.

In previous years, with only the CR-V, Honda accounted for only 20-30% of the SUV market. 

The BR-V made its world debut at the Gaikindo Indonesian International Auto Show 2015 in August, generating 2,500 bookings.

It will be introduced as a prototype model at the Thailand International Motor Expo from Dec 2-13, with bookings open.

"The BR-V will be produced at Honda's facilities in Thailand, but the parent company has not disclosed any details of localisation between the Ayutthaya and Prachin Buri factories," said Mr Pitak.

The BR-V is equipped with a petrol engine of 1.5 litres and four cylinders and is E85 compatible. It is smaller than the HR-V (1.8 litres) and the CR-V (2.0 and 2.4 litres).

Marketing general manager Sompop Patipanthada said the BR-V would focus on the low-end market.

It will be cheaper than the HR-V (890,000 to 1.04 million baht) and the CR-V (1.2-1.58 million baht).

He said the retail prices of SUV models would increase because of the new excise tax effective next year but high-end SUVs would be more affected than low-end models.

"The prices of small and middle SUVs will not increase too much, making them still affordable," Mr Sompop said.

Honda Thailand posted sales of 79,648 vehicles in the first nine months, up 6.7% from the same period last year.

The overall car market, meanwhile, fell by 14.6% to 533,832 vehicles from January to September.

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