Honda offers glimpse of new small SUV

Concept version is slightly shorter than popular CR-V

The unveiling of the Honda Urban SUV concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, today.

DETROIT — After scoring a hit with its CR-V compact SUV, Honda today offered a glimpse at what the automaker's new, even smaller SUV might look like when it hits streets.

The “Urban SUV Concept” made its debut during press previews at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Honda Motor Co. plans to launch a small SUV based on that concept vehicle in Japan by the end of the year and in the U.S. in 2014.

The concept SUV is 9 inches shorter than the CR-V, and hidden rear door handles give it a smooth, coupe-like presence. When it goes on sale in the U.S. it's expected to be priced below the existing CR-V, which starts around $22,700 for a 2013 model.

“We believe there is a good market potential for this vehicle,” Tetsuo Iwamura, president and chief operating officer of Honda's North American Regional Operations, said in an interview with reporters at the show.

The new SUV is expected to fill a place in Honda's lineup between the subcompact Fit and the CR-V, and Iwamura said he anticipates it will draw new buyers — not poach sales from Honda's existing vehicles. He said the concept for the new SUV is “completely different” than its existing offerings.

Last year, Honda's U.S. vehicle sales rose 24 percent, led by strong sales of its Civic and Accord sedans as well as the Odyssey minivan. But Honda sees an opportunity to increase sales of its smaller vehicles as well. Last year, for example, CR-V sales rose 29 percent to more than 281,000.

Honda hasn't released a forecast for 2013 global sales, but it's shooting for its biggest sales year ever in the U.S., Iwamura said. The company sold 1.55 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2007, and “our challenge for this year,” he said, is to top that.

Honda is opening a plant near Celaya, Guanajuato, located north of Mexico City. It plans to build the new SUV there as well as the Fit. With the addition of the plant, Honda said about 95 percent its production for North America will be in North America, up from its current level of about 90 percent.

“That is a symbol of the kind of localization that we've done in North America,” Honda President and CEO Takanobu Ito said in an interview with reporters at the show.