{"id":24211,"date":"2019-09-20T13:43:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T17:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=24211"},"modified":"2019-09-20T13:43:15","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T17:43:15","slug":"honda-cr-v-joins-the-hybrid-compact-suv-fray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/honda-cr-v-joins-the-hybrid-compact-suv-fray","title":{"rendered":"Honda CR-V joins the hybrid compact SUV fray"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/0646b845-e67d-4f4d-8f86-a7b9802664fa-honda1.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A new CR-V Hybrid to be built at Honda's Greensburg, Indiana plant\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A new CR-V Hybrid to be built at Honda&#8217;s Greensburg, Indiana plant\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Honda)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\"><em>Detroit<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Honda introduced its first hybrid SUV here Wednesday\u00a0as government regulations transform the vehicle\u00a0landscape with mainstream\u00a0battery-powered\u00a0options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">The Honda CR-V Hybrid joins the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the new Ford Escape Hybrid in the best-selling compact SUV segment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Long marketed as\u00a0niche vehicles with sales hovering around 3% of U.S. sales, hybrids are experiencing a resurgence as Washington ratchets up mpg rules on big automakers. The Trump administration is trying to roll back regulations requiring\u00a0fleets to\u00a0average 54.5 mpg by 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda has pledged that two-thirds of its global lineup will be electrified by 2030, and the CR-V Hybrid \u2013 part of an update to its 2020 offerings\u00a0\u2013 is the brand\u2019s biggest volume commitment yet after introducing low-volume, electrified variants in the past like the wee Insight and hydrogen-powered Clarity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThe CR-V Hybrid signifies our direction to bring Honda hybrid-electric technology to all core models and to invest in the production of electrified vehicles in America,\u201d said Honda U.S. sales executive\u00a0Henio Arcangeli\u00a0Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The CR-V will be manufactured in Greensburg, Indiana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Toyota\u2019s RAV4 Hybrid, assembled in Canada, this year leapfrogged the Toyota Prius Hybrid as the best-selling hybrid in America. Offered in base LE trim with a starting price at a class-competitive $28,945, Toyota has positioned the RAV4 Hybrid model to sell with a starting sticker price just $2,200 above the base LE gas model.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SGyg3Ucuk6E\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/686709dd-6898-426e-abf7-23a7f8348f94-honda4.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 Honda CR-V, sporting freshened styling, new features and upgraded powertrains, and the new CR-V Hybrid.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/686709dd-6898-426e-abf7-23a7f8348f94-honda4.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/686709dd-6898-426e-abf7-23a7f8348f94-honda4.jpg?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/>The 2020 Honda CR-V, sporting freshened styling, new features and upgraded powertrains, and the new CR-V Hybrid.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Honda)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Escape Hybrid, too, debuts this fall as a volume offering in Ford\u2019s best-selling vehicle outside the F-150 pickup truck. Ford abandoned its first Escape Hybrid after the 2012 model year. Priced\u00a0$10,000 above the base ute, the \u201912 Hybrid offered little bang for the buck and sales tanked despite positive media reviews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Escape Hybrid has been reborn this year as a Sport and Titanium offering priced just $2,210 over the base S model at $28,290. Ford expects Hybrid trims to make up over 30% of Escape sales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s the regulatory environment that pushes you to do things that they customers don\u2019t want \u2013 or don\u2019t want initially,\u201d Ford SUV marketing manager Craig Patterson said at the Escape Hybrid\u2019s media test this month. \u201cWe anticipate that eventually customers will gravitate toward\u00a0these cars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda estimates a 50%\u00a0increase in CR-V Hybrid fuel economy over the gas-engine\u00a0model. The hybrid option will be the most powerful offering in the CR-V lineup with 212 horsepower,\u00a0besting the 1.5-liter gas engine offering by 22 horsepower. While seven ponies shy of the RAV4 Hybrid, it trumps the Escape Hybrid by 14 horsepower. The CR-V also offers a unique\u00a0two-motor system that operates without a multi-ratio automatic transmission for a smoother, more EV-like drive experience.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SGyg3UdXHrI\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/4eecb5cf-acbc-41b5-baad-868fbe42f24c-honda2.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Interior of the 2020 CR-V Hybrid.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/4eecb5cf-acbc-41b5-baad-868fbe42f24c-honda2.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/4eecb5cf-acbc-41b5-baad-868fbe42f24c-honda2.jpg?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/>Interior of the 2020 CR-V Hybrid.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Honda)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The CR-V will be offered in every trim level beyond the base LX. While Honda won\u2019t disclose final pricing until closer to launch early next year, the Hybrid model will likely be priced under $30,000 like its competitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Though the Honda, Toyota\u00a0and Ford strategies mark a notable mainstreaming of hybrid offerings, they aren\u2019t a guarantee of success. Nissan marketed its own Rogue Hybrid since 2017 \u2014 a battery-assist variant of the second-best-selling SUV after the RAV4 \u2014for a competitive $28,745, just $2,500 more than\u00a0base trim. However, tepid sales led to the car\u2019s demise for the 2020 model year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Honda, too, has tried a hybrid offering of its popular\u00a0midsize Accord sedan, but sales crawled along at under 4%. Other volume automakers like Chevy and Hyundai have tested the waters with smaller minnows. Chevy sells the niche all-electric Bolt EV, while Hyundai has produced a variety of hybrid plug-in and electric small cars.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SGyg3Uct1hk\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/41770db5-d351-4bda-9952-511d58bd28bb-honda3.jpg?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Inside the 2020 CR-V hybrid\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/41770db5-d351-4bda-9952-511d58bd28bb-honda3.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/09\/18\/PDTN\/41770db5-d351-4bda-9952-511d58bd28bb-honda3.jpg?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/>Inside the 2020 CR-V hybrid\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Honda)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Toyota\u2019s success with the popular RAV4 Hybrid \u2014\u00a0sales are at 15% of RAV4 volume and climbing \u2014\u00a0gives automakers hope, though industry insiders express concerns the complicated drivetrains are expensive and may dull profit margins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new CR-V Hybrid to be built at Honda&#8217;s Greensburg, Indiana plant\u00a0(Photo: Honda) Detroit\u00a0\u2013 Honda introduced its first hybrid SUV here Wednesday\u00a0as government regulations transform the vehicle\u00a0landscape with mainstream\u00a0battery-powered\u00a0options. The Honda CR-V Hybrid joins the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the new Ford Escape Hybrid in the best-selling compact SUV segment. Long marketed as\u00a0niche vehicles with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}