Tech Japan's top-imported car in April, May: Honda

[thomas]

Honda Motor's new compact SUV, made in India, has become a sensation in Japan due to its low price. In April and May, Honda was Japan's top imported vehicle seller. The Elevate, launched in India last August, debuted in Japan as the WR-V in March. It is the first Honda model made in India and sold in Japan. Following its release, Honda topped the import brand list for the first time in nearly 28 years, surpassing Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and other global brands.

Honda Elevate (photo credit Reuters via Nikkei)​

According to statistics from the Japan Automobile Importers Association, the number of imported Honda car registrations reached 3,472 in April and 4,204 in May, more than 20 times the monthly average of 173 units in 2023. In June, Honda finished second, behind Mercedes-Benz, even though its import tally climbed to 4,319. [...] A factor driving the WR-V's success is a price that starts at around 2.1 million yen ($13,200), including tax. Compare that to Honda's Vezel SUV, which starts at around 2.7 million yen. "Honda's motto is that we provide a good product at a fair price," the leader of the WR-V development team, Munetsugu Kaneko, told Nikkei Asia. According to the company's website, the Elevate sells for 1.191 million rupees ($14,300) in India. Kaneko said the team set the price range to target Japanese drivers in their mid-20s to mid-30s. "I thought it would not attract [these customers] if the price were not reasonable."

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Honda's made-in-India SUV grabs Japanese drivers with low price

Japanese brand beats Mercedes-Benz and BMW in importing vehicles in April and May

asia.nikkei.com