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Honda is hoping its new sub-120g/km CR-V small off-roader will appeal to those buyers of upper medium cars from rival manufacturers, who discount the Japanese brand's Accord saloon and Tourer models because they don't compete on CO2 emissions.
Speaking to BusinessCar, Honda's fleet boss Lee Wheeler admitted that the Accord isn't as "cutting edge" as it should be from an emissions perspective.
"Anyone that's had one for a while appreciates it's a great car to drive. The only problem is CO2 and for that reason it won't have a broad fleet appeal," he said.
"The [upper medium] D-sector is one of the few showing levels of contraction; it's being fought out very aggressively by the German brands and that's not a fight Honda is going to win."
Instead, the Japanese firm will look to steer buyers towards its off-roader.
"Why not question someone in a competitor's D-sector vehicle that's looking for a new one - do they want a car like the CR-V with 119g/km of emissions?" Wheeler said.
The 120hp 1.6-litre diesel engine comes to the CR-V in October. The off-roader is the second fitment for that engine, which is already offered in the lower medium Civic with 94g/km.
"The 1.6 CR-V is hugely important. I'm at pains not to overplay it, but from a fleet perspective it goes into the sector in such a different way," explained Wheeler.
"The Civic is holding its own in the [lower medium] C-sector, but it's a very cluttered sector and we don't dominate." The CR-V holds a more significant share of its own sector, even before the arrival of the most fleet-friendly version, and the company is hoping it will help open doors, allowing Honda to talk about the Civic as well.
Honda has confirmed it will be dropping the 2.2-litre diesel from the Civic range. The 150hp engine, offering 110g/km of CO2 emissions, is deemed surplus to requirements with the success of the smaller and more efficient alternative.
Next in the line of new Honda product is the estate version of the Civic, of which more will be revealed in the next couple of months, with the car due to arrive in the UK next spring.
Wheeler is pledging to give the residual value guides early access to the vehicle and information relating to it, in order to get it into their systems in January, a couple of months before launch.
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