It Looks Like the Acura CDX Could be Headed to North America

Acura pulled the wraps off of the CDX subcompact crossover at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show.

The tiny city runabout, which shares a platform with the Honda CH-R, is sold in China only and is built locally at the automaker’s Zengcheng Plant in Guangdong, China. Earlier this year, Acura expressed an interest in shipping the China-only CDX to North America, with Jon Ikeda, group vice president for Acura US, telling Wards Auto the brand was studying consumer interest and market trends before making a decision.

“It’s a model that interests a lot of our people, so we have our R&D guys looking into the possibility,” he said.

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It seems as though Acura is now laying the groundwork for the CDX’s eventual arrival in the United States and Canada. contributor Bozi Tatarevic recently dug up a patent filing for the CDX’s design that was awarded to Acura by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on December 12th, 2017. While patent filings don’t serve as concrete evidence of anything, it’s compelling to see Acura expressing such an interest in the CDX.

There’s one very good reason why Acura should and most likely will sell the CDX here: Lexus. The rival Japanese premium brand said earlier this year it will eventually introduce a subcompact crossover in North America called the UX, which will slot beneath the NX in the automaker’s lineup and serve as its new entry-level crossover. The UX’s styling was also previewed with a wild-looking concept vehicle of the same name first shown at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. We doubt Honda will let Toyota enter that segment without a little bit of friendly competition.