Honda WRV Sells 50k Units A Year, Surpasses Jazz & Amaze

The top-spec VX with the sunroof is the highest selling variant!

Honda entered the popular sub-4m SUV space with the launch of the WR-V in March 2017. The recipe was simple: it took the Jazz, stretched its wheelbase to make more space inside, added plastic cladding to make it look rugged, and most importantly, increased its ground clearance to 188mm. And voila! It worked for the Japanese carmaker. In its first year in India, the WR-V managed to cross 50,000 sales, even outselling the Jazz in 2017. Also Read: 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 vs Honda Jazz vs VW Polo - Specifications & Features Comparison

Honda says that the WR-V’s top-spec VX variant makes up 80 per cent of its total sales in the country. The reason behind the popularity of the WR-V’s top variant could be the sunroof, a sought-after feature that might not be very practical for a country like India but often considered to be a premium offering.

The WRV's 188mm of ground clearance could have also contributed to its sales, especially in the tier-II and tier-III cities, where roads are not the most well paved. Honda claims that 30 and 32 per cent of the WR-V’s total sales come from tier-II and tier-III cities respectively.

The WR-V was also launched when both the EcoSport and i20 Active were ageing and Tata had not launched the Nexon. Besides that, it had the option of both petrol and diesel engines in its arsenal. With the 1.5-litre diesel engine paired with a 6-speed manual transmission, the WR-V diesel was also the most frugal sub-compact SUV at launch. Even in our tests, the WR-V turned out to be more fuel efficient the both the Brezza and the Nexon out on the highway.

Honda says that the WR-V accounted for 28 per cent of the brand’s entire sales in FY-2017-18. However, it is not the best selling (second best) Honda in country, as the City leads the pack with average monthly sales of around 4,000 units against WR-V’s 3,500 units. Related: Clash Of Segments: Honda City vs WRV

In its segment, the WR-V ranks third in the average monthly sales after the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Tata Nexon. Since the launch of the Nexon in September, the WR-V’s average monthly sales numbers have seen a decline of about 25 per cent.

Also Read: Honda Considering New Amaze-Based Sub-compact SUV For India? Top Boss Drops A Hint

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