Not just for ASEAN, the budget-friendly Honda WR-V is heading to Japan with e:HEV hybrid powertrain
Hans · May 5, 2023 01:30 PM
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Previously, there are big differences between cars developed for developing markets in Southeast Asia and those meant for Japan.
Although both are right-hand drive markets, differences in consumer demand and compliance to stricter regulations governing safety and exhaust emission meant that in the past, very few Southeast Asian models are sold in Japan.
In the early 2010s, Nissan tried to export the Nissan March from Thailand, but it didn’t sell well. There were some exceptions like the Thailand-made Toyota Hilux and Indonesia-made Daihatsu GranMax, but those are commercial vehicles.
In the land of kei minicars, the Thailand-made Toyota Hilux is a rich man's lifestyle car. It's at home with European imports
Today, things are little different. Thailand’s Nissan Kicks is selling quite well in Japan. The Toyota Raize / Daihatsu Rocky twins, which were developed primarily for Indonesia and Malaysia (Perodua Ativa), is one of Japan’s best-selling SUV models.
However unlike the Thailand-made Nissan Kicks, the Japanese market Raize-Rocky are built in Japan at Daihatsu’s Shiga plant but the cars are structurally identical to Indonesia / Malaysia-market models, except for localized infotainment and built-in electronic toll readers, and hybrid engine options.
Rising household incomes in Southeast Asia is also closing the gap in expectation between customers in Japan and countries in the ASEAN trade bloc, as is adoption of harmonized regulations under the United Nations WP.25 pact for harmonization of world vehicle regulations.
The Honda WR-V is poised to become the latest Southeast Asia model to be introduced in Japan.
The model is currently on sale in Indonesia and Thailand. It is also the best-selling SUV in its class. In Indonesia, the Honda WR-V commands more than 40 percent of the A-segment SUV market.
Japan is expected to launch the Honda WR-V by the end of this year, after Malaysia, where the 1.5-litre Perodua Ativa-rival will go on sale in Q3.
It is still unclear if the Japanese-market Honda WR-V will be made in Japan or imported from Indonesia.
Currently, Honda Japan only has two SUV models in its line-up – the B-segment Vezel (HR-V to us) and the C-segment ZR-V (USA market HR-V, unrelated to our local HR-V). The CR-V has since been discontinued in Japan. The US-focused CR-V has become too big to meet the needs of Japanese SUV buyers.
The Nissan Kicks, Toyota Raize, and Daihatsu Rocky - all designed primarily for emerging markets - are enjoying pretty good sales in Japan and you can be certain that Honda is looking in the same direction too.
Since hybrid is essential for sales success in Japan, the Japanese market Honda WR-V may even offer the same 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain as the City and City Hatchback e:HEV, which are mechanically similar cars to the WR-V.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
