Honda Jazz, WR-V, And Fourth-Gen City To Face The Axe; To Make Way For A New SUV

• Honda to discontinue Jazz, WR-V and fourth-gen City this year, reports say. 
• These models will make way for the production of a new SUV. 
• Honda will then have the Amaze, City and City Hybrid on sale, until the new SUV arrives. 
• The SUV will debut in India in 2023, possibly at the Auto Expo if the carmaker participates.

Looks like the rumours about the discontinuation of the Honda Jazz and WR-V are in fact true and it’s not just these two, but Honda is reportedly planning to axe the fourth-generation City too. These discontinuations will then make way for the production of Honda’s upcoming SUV, possibly a Maruti Brezza rival.  

Fifth-gen City to continue unchanged

As per a report, the Jazz will be taken off the shelves first by October, followed by the fourth-generation City toward the end of this year. The crossover WR-V is set to be discontinued by March 2023. Until the new SUV arrives, Honda will have the Amaze, City, and City Hybrid on sale.

The Honda Jazz has been in India since 2009 and it went on to receive its first generational update (in India) in 2015. It was positioned as a premium hatchback right from launch, with its cab forward design, a reliable VTEC petrol engine, and the convenient magic seats. However, for the past few years, its sales has dropped and now it barely averages around 500 units a month. 

The Honda WR-V was introduced in 2017 as a crossover alternative to the Jazz and as a price competitor to the sub-compact SUVs. But, over the past five years, it just received a minor facelift but no automatic gearbox option.

In its first year, it was off to a flying start thanks to a segment exclusive sunroof, but with more modern and feature-rich sub-compact SUVs entering the scene, the WR-V was lost in the competition.

As for the fourth-generation Honda City, it’s been on sale since 2014, followed by a facelift in 2017. Currently, it is limited to two variants with a petrol-manual combination.

Also read: 

• Production-ready Honda SUV RS Spotted; India Launch Likely In 2023

• 2022 Honda City e:HEV Hybrid Sedan Launched In India At Rs 19.5 Lakh

On the other hand, we have a new SUV from Honda incoming. While Honda has confirmed that it is working on a new SUV for India, it hasn’t revealed the segment it is targeting. 

So, we’re expecting the model to be a sub-compact SUV likely based on the Amaze’s platform and it will take on the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Hyundai Venue and the like. We’re expecting Honda to showcase the new SUV at the Auto Expo 2023 if the Japanese carmaker participates.