Cheaper Honda car coming? New 2026 Chery Tiggo 4 and Kia Stonic rival on the Japanese brand’s radar for Australia

Honda could add a cheaper, smaller model to sit under the HR-V as part of its plans for growth in Australia.

The Japanese carmaker has confirmed it will expand its model line-up Down Under with new models and additional variants of existing models.

Honda has been without a sub-Civic or HR-V model since it discontinued the Jazz light hatch back in 2021 as part of a wider restructure of the brand and business model. The company elected to not offer the fourth-generation Jazz here as it would have been priced too high to compete.

Speaking to reporters at a recent media event, newly appointed President and CEO of Honda Australia Jay Joseph said the company was open to the idea of a new entry model, providing there was something from Honda’s global portfolio that suited the market.

“We're always looking at the portfolio and the products that make sense in the market. There may be. We're not ready to announce any specific product,” he said.

Currently the most affordable Honda model in Australia is the petrol-powered HR-V Vi X small SUV and it's priced at $32,900 drive-away. The cheapest hybrid grade is $42,900 drive-away.

At the time it was discontinued, the base model Jazz VTi manual was priced from $15,990 before on-road costs.

If Honda decides to add a new entry model to its line-up in Australia, there are a few models in different markets it could choose from.

There are a number of ‘kei’ cars offered in its home market Japan, like the adorable N-One and N-Box, but it’s highly unlikely that Honda would offer them in Australia due to their tiny size and lack of certain safety items.

For similar safety reasons it would be hard to justify something like the Honda Amaze from India, while the company is also unlikely to consider re-introducing the Jazz or related City sedan, in their current generations at least.

The most likely option is the Honda WR-V, a light SUV that sits under the Vezel (known as HR-V in Australia) in its Japanese line-up.

Based on the Indian market Elevate, the WR-V is sold in Japan with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). It starts from the equivalent of $A26,500 in Japan.

This could be a direct rival for entry-level affordable models like the Chery Tiggo 4.

Of course, there are likely other Honda models in the works we don’t know about yet that could be under consideration.

Joseph said any potential model Honda considers for its line-up must be fun to drive and highlighted the reputation of cars like the Jazz, and earlier versions of the Civic small car.

“The reason you remember the Jazz or the Civics is because you remember the good times you had in them. Because they were fun to drive. They could actually go around a corner and you could pile a bunch of people in, and they were somewhat indestructible because of our high durability, quality, reliability, but your memories are based on the fun times you have. So we've got to always inject fun into those products.

“So yeah, we look at those things and like I said, no announcement today, but we'd love to be able to offer a high value, lower-cost model, if it makes sense.”