How many Honda BR-Vs have been sold in PH?

THE Honda BR-V is the brand’s second-bestselling model in the Philippines.

This was bared by Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) president and general manager Noriyuki Takakura during the launch program for the refreshed BR-V — which went on sale Wednesday. The BR-V, noted the executive, had enjoyed “good reception in the Philippines” since the model was introduced in September 2016 because it was the first affordable seven-seat SUV in the market.

“To date, it has sold a total of more than 14,500 units,” said Takakura, referring to the BR-V.

He added the model has also been named to the 2017 People’s Choice Award as the Subcompact SUV of the Year and as Best Compact Crossover in the two-wheel drive category.

“Last year, as part of our commitment to help grow the Philippine automotive industry, and as support to all our associates, we have decided to produce the BR-V here in the Philippines. This also means the BR-V will always be available to our customers with no waiting time,” Takakura said.

During the same event Takakura also announced HCPI sold 8,660 vehicles from January to May this year. Majority of these — 5,030 — were passenger car models while the remaining 3,630 units were commercial vehicles. The company’s bestselling model is the Honda City.

The executive said HCPI already sold 610 units of the new-generation Honda Brio unveiled in April. This represents a 1,257% increase on-year compared to sales of the model’s predecessor.

New to the BR-V are grilles, front and rear bumpers, LED daytime running lights, 16-inch wheels and a shark fin antenna. The cabin of the top variant gets a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen display for the audio system that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Also new are red leather accents and stickers. Some pieces of décor are now in dark steel color, too.

Powering the BR-V is still the 119hp, 145Nm, 1.5 Liter i-VTEC engine matched to a CVT.

Two BR-V variants are available — 1.5 S CVT and 1.5 V CVT — which come in six colors. The 1.5 S CVT costs P1.035 million, the 1.5 V CVT sells for P1.155 million.