Priced at RM 195,900, you wouldn’t expect the Honda CR-V Hybrid to sell in high numbers, but once again Honda Malaysia has surprised us (and themselves too!). Dealers are now quoting a 4- to 5-month waiting period for the highest specifications CR-V e:HEV RS - as the hybrid variant is known as.

In comparison, the regular VTEC Turbo variants (priced from RM 159,900 to RM 181,900) have a shorter 3-month waiting period, suggesting that even Honda Malaysia has under-estimated the growing demand for hybrid SUVs. Production of the hybrid variant is not keeping up with demand.

Honda Malaysia says it has collected close to 6,500 bookings for the Honda CR-V since launching the model on 14-December 2023.

The company didn’t provide a breakdown of the bookings by variant, but the majority of the circa 1,500 units of CR-Vs delivered to customers are mid-range V variant (RM 181,900), contributing 45% of total registrations. The E variant (RM 169,900) follows at 30%.

Shortage in supply of e:HEV RS variant also means that the hybrid contributed just 14% of total deliveries, while the base S variant (RM 159,900) came in at 11%.

Regardless of which variant you choose, all CR-V models offered come decently equipped. Even the base S variant come with 8 airbags and the full suite of Honda Sensing advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS).

For more details on the differences between the four variants offered, refer to this post.