Honda goes for CR-V gold

Fresh from launching the most price-competitive Civic here in a decade, Honda Australia will bring its new CR-V to market with an equally compelling value-for-money formula later this year, in a bid to regain market share for its once-dominant compact SUV.

While the fourth-generation CR-V goes on sale here with petrol power and a cut-price front-wheel drive variant in November, it will be joined late next year by Honda’s first diesel SUV.

The Mk4 CR-V will join the fast-growing ranks of SUVs to launch with a 2WD base-spec variant priced from under $30,000, but will the first diesel CR-V range extend to a base 2WD version?

Honda says it hasn’t decided yet, but it would make sense given the existence of such a vehicle overseas, and the aggressive stance the company is making to regain market share.

Honda Australia sales and marketing chief Stephen Collins told motoring.com.au  the company ‘hopes’ to come in well under the $30K mark.

“It’s certainly what we’re targeting. And we’re looking to do with CR-V what we’re doing with Civic – re-establish it in the very strong position it once held in its segment.”

If it comes in below the outgoing model’s base price of $28,090, it will be the cheapest CR-V ever launched here. Honda will keen to achieve that, given the run-out model is AWD-only.

With competition ramping up in the compact SUV segment for some time, a sub-$30K offering is nearly compulsory for players in the volume end of the market.

“It’s important we get a 2WD out there alongside the AWD. It’s a very fast growing segment of the market and CR-V’s a core model for us, so it makes sense to get it out there ASAP.”

While the company is still in the early planning stages of bringing a CR-V oiler to Australia, if the company’s strategy parallels that of the Civic, buyers can expect access to a 2WD diesel version of the car, as well as higher-spec AWD diesel models.

Mr Collins says it’s too early to confirm the SUV’s diesel line-up, but a bargain-basement front-drive version stands to give Honda a unique selling proposition in the segment. The only other compact SUVs on offer with 2WD and a diesel engine are the Ssangyong Korando and Great Wall X200, meaning Honda would be the only established brand to have a footing there.

Toyota has confirmed it will launch Australia’s first diesel RAV4, based on the new-generation compact wagon due on sale here in early 2013, but has not revealed whether it would come as part of the initial launch line-up in early 2013, let alone whether it will be available with front-wheel drive.

Increased competition has served to blur the branding lines between the volume Asian brands and the Europeans that once commanded a few thousand extra dollars for the perception of superior engineering and the brand cachet that went with it.

Now, buyers of cheap SUVs can take their pick from a global smorgasbord of brands – CR-V, RAV4, Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage, Skoda Yeti, Jeep Compass and Patriot, Mazda CX5, Hyundai ix35.

Mitsubishi and Peugeot share a platform in the ASX/4008, and the number of rivals grew in recent weeks with Mahindra’s XUV500 arriving from India. All start under $30K.

The next CR-V will hail from Thailand, which is good news for buyers. Australia’s free trade agreement with that country dramatically boosts the CR-V’s chances of coming in under the crucial $30K threshold.

It’s also good news for Honda, with the company looking to mirror in the CR-V’s segment what it’s doing with the Civic in compact hatches. That is, making its most aggressive grab for market leadership in years.

Like the Civic, the CR-V once dominated its segment before losing ground as the field became more crowded. The Thai floods through the latter half of 2011 and January this year didn’t help, causing severe disruptions to supply.

Mr Collins reiterated to media at the launch that that’s now behind it, with the plant returning to normal since opening for business again in March.

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