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Honda set to reveal WR-V’s replacement next year
Initially thought to be called ZR-V, the still unnamed newcomer will be built in India and possibly feature a hybrid powerunit.
WR-V has been on sale since 2017, but only arrived in South Africa two years ago.
With production set to wind down soon, a new report from Brazil has alleged that the speculated replacement for the Honda WR-V will become a reality in mid-2023.
Thought to be called ZR-V, a moniker now used on a completely unrelated SUV in China confusingly sold as the HR-V in North America, the successor made its debut in the shape of SUV RS Concept at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show last year, but has faded into relative obscurity since then with no details being disclosed or leaked.
According to motor1.com Brazil though, citing uncredited reports from India, the newcomer, whose name remains unknown at present, will again slot-in below the global HR-V and reportedly measure over four metres in length, thus exceeding India’s sub-four metre regulations the WR-V conforms to.
Likely to use the City, known in sedan guise as the Ballade in South Africa, as a base, the report states that the newcomer will continue to offer a manual or automatic gearbox, the latter expected to be a CVT, but with the first time availability of a hybrid power unit.
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While powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine or a 1.5-litre turbodiesel in India, the latter is expected to fall away and the former replaced by the same 1.5-litre unit from the City.
The hybrid meanwhile is expected to be carried over from the Fit, meaning it will serve as the direct replacement for the oil-burner.
“It will be exported internationally and won’t be exclusive to India or South Africa, but will become a global model and exported to other markets, including Japan,” Honda South Africa’s Product Manager Callon Locke told The Citizen on the side-lines of the HR-V’s local market launch in Cape Town last month.
With Honda having ended production of the WR-V in Brazil last year, its replacement will be sourced directly from India and once revealed, could come to South Africa either towards the end of next year or in early 2024 if approval is given.
