After launching its sports utility vehicle Elevate in Japan in the third week of March, Honda Cars India has exported more units of this model between April and June than it has sold in India, as the car emerged as a runaway hit in its home country.
Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show that between April and June 2024 Honda exported 10,659 units of the Elevate, with exports picking up month-on-month. At the same time, the company sold 5,435 units of the Elevate in the Indian market.
Exports of Elevate picked up from 2,500 units in April to 4,051 units in May and 4,108 units in June. The company launched the car in Japan in the third week of March, where it is being sold as the Honda WR-V. It is the first made-in-India car to go on sale in Honda’s home market, Japan. The WR-V brand was discontinued in India in 2023; however, globally, the moniker is in use. Exports of the car had begun around December-January, and it was launched officially in March.
The car has been a runaway hit in Japan. Nikkei reported earlier this week that the new SUV has been such a hit in Japan that the automaker was crowned the country’s top imported vehicle seller in April-May. After the launch of the model in Japan, where it has been competitively priced at 2.1 million yen ($13,200) including taxes, Honda’s imports beat rivals Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen among others.
According to data from the Japan Automobile Importers Association, Honda tops the list of Japanese manufacturers importing overseas-made vehicles (passenger cars), beating Toyota, Suzuki, and Nissan. Honda imported 18,654 units of cars (all models from all geographies) between January and June this year into Japan, beating Nissan (8,191 units), Mazda (4,705 units), Toyota (1,000 units), and Suzuki (523 units).
Interestingly, the Elevate is priced at Rs 11.9 lakh in India, or $14,300 (starting price), the country where it is manufactured.
Nikkei quoted statistics from the Japan Automobile Importers Association that the number of imported Honda car registrations reached 3,472 in April and 4,204 in May, more than 20 times the monthly average of 173 units in 2023. In June, Honda finished second, behind Mercedes-Benz, even though its import tally climbed to 4,319.
The high demand for the car pushed Honda to stop taking bookings for one of the grades of this car.
