Report: Honda plans Fit-based crossover
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TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. has a few tricks up its sleeve for the third-generation Fit due next year.
Honda has said the Fit will pioneer an r&d strategy in which global nameplates will break from a one-size-fits-all approach and be developed and built regionally.
But Honda apparently plans a Fit-based crossover to help it sell more than 1 million vehicles off the new platform, Japan’s Nikkei business daily reports.
The crossover mainly will target the United States and Europe, and global volume could reach 400,000 units, the report says.
If true, expect a U.S. version to be made at the plant Honda plans to open in 2014 in Mexico. That factory is slated to make the Fit hatchback.
The Fit is small by U.S. standards. To match demand for utility hauling, a pint-sized crossover version might need more oomph under the hood to catch on stateside.
Japan already gets a tall-wagon Fit variant, called the Freed. That model comes in an eight-seat version, but that kind of load can strain its 1.5-liter engine.
You can reach Hans Greimel at hgreimel@crain.com. -- Follow Hans on 
