As business for Honda Motor Co. returns to normal, the news can turn back to future products, starting with the first look at the next generation of a model increasingly important to Honda, the CR-V.
Honda (NYSE:HMC) released the first image of its next generation CR-V Monday. The East Liberty-built vehicle is the top seller in its small sport-utility segment with 203,714 vehicles sold in the U.S. last year. The redesign is expected to hit showrooms before the end of the year.
In addition to exterior design improvements, Honda said the engine will be more fuel-efficient, its body weight has been reduced and the interior will be more spacious.
"The all-new CR-V will offer an added dimension of style, amazing interior versatility and Honda's latest technologies for convenience and refinement," John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda Motor Co.
, the automaker's U.S. sales arm, said in a release.
The concept version of the vehicle will make its debut at the Orange County International Auto Show in California in September.
The CR-V not only leads its segment, but has become a greater part of Honda's sales mix in recent years. The relaunch comes at a key point for the automaker as short supplies have hindered sales since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but competitors such as General Motors , Toyota Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. , have been taking greater aim at the small SUV segment.
Central Ohio is the hub of Honda’s North American operations. The company employs more than 13,500 workers in Ohio, including its assembly plants in Marysville and East Liberty. In the greater Dayton region, its operations include 2,400 workers at its Anna engine plant, 1,050 workers at its Logan County transmission plant and 225 employees at a consolidation facility in Troy.
Workers in Marysville and East Liberty assemble the Honda Accord, Crosstour and CR-V and the Acura TL sedan and RDX sport-utility vehicle.
