Honda’s sixth-generation 2023 CR-V compact crossover is greater, sportier and can characteristic two new hybrid trims positioned on the high of the lineup that the Japanese automaker hopes will entice half of all consumers to go inexperienced.
In addition to new fuel-sipping hybrids, the newest CR-V represents a serious advance over the outgoing mannequin when it comes to model, ruggedness, tech and driving dynamics, in accordance with Mike Kistemaker, assistant vp of Honda gross sales at American Honda. Kistemaker says the CR-V, the No. 2 compact crossover final yr after the Toyota RAV4, has performed an necessary function for Honda previously and can proceed to take action sooner or later.
Honda is boosting output of gasoline-electric variations of the 2023 CR-V considerably as a result of the corporate expects the 2 new hybrid trims — the Sport and Sport Touring — will signify half of all gross sales. Through the primary six months of 2022, about 22 p.c of all CR-Vs bought within the U.S. had been hybrids, in accordance with information from Motor Intelligence.
The hybrid push with the CR-V is the primary tangible signal of a “serious electrification effort on Honda’s part,” in accordance with Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of AutoPacific. “Going 50 percent hybrid on Honda’s top seller is aggressive, and by sheer numbers, the carbon emissions savings for its U.S. lineup will be significant,” Kim mentioned.
The two hybrid trims aren’t solely aimed toward luring new consumers at a time of report gasoline costs, they’re additionally designed to maintain the CR-V aggressive with the RAV4. The two rivals dominate the compact crossover phase, now the biggest within the business.
“RAV4 has a very strong hybrid mix and that’s one of the attributes that has propelled it to the upper ranks of the sales charts,” Kim mentioned. Through June, the hybrid variant represented 43 p.c of RAV4’s U.S. gross sales, in accordance with Toyota Motor North America.
Sales of the RAV4, the top-selling automobile within the U.S. that’s not a pickup, topped 407,700 in 2021. CR-V notched 361,271 gross sales final yr.
“With an even stronger mix and presumably more competitive pricing to support it, CR-V should be even more competitive than the current model and more competitive against RAV4,” Kim mentioned.
Source: www.autonews.com
