Honda Cars India will launch the City hybrid in FY2023 in the country. Having gone on sale in various global markets earlier this year including Malaysia, it will be introduced in India in the second half of 2022. Initially, Honda City hybrid was supposed to go on sale in August 2020 in the domestic market but it has now been pushed to mid of next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Honda City is the oldest Honda model in the Indian market and recently the company commenced the exports of LHD versions from India to Mexico and Turkey.
“We will be launching the (City) hybrid in the next financial year,” Rajesh Goel, senior vice president and director, sales and marketing, Honda Cars India told AutoCar India. The Japanese brand reassured its commitment regarding the launch of a "“mainstream hybrid” in India in the form of City. Goel further added that now the City hybrid will arrive in showrooms in the next financial year, i.e. after March 2022. The company is also working on an all-new mid-sized SUV for India which has been codenamed as 31XA. To be built on a completely new platform, the new Honda SUV is already under development and sources suggest that it might enter production by August 2023 to rival Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta.
Honda City Hybrid Engine
Honda City hybrid will be powered by the 1.5L petrol engine with two electric motors. It will boast of Honda’s i-MMD hybrid technology which we have already seen with the global-spec CR-V hybrid and new-gen Honda Jazz. The Honda Jazz e:HEV abroad comes with the same setup as the City hybrid. The 1.5L naturally aspirated Atkinson Cycle petrol engine delivers top power of 98 bhp and peak torque of 127 Nm. The first electric motor acts as an integrated starter-generator (ISG) while the second one transmits the power to the wheels. The second electric motor produces power output of 109 bhp and torque performance of 253 Nm while sending it to the front wheels via a bespoke gearbox. It will get three driving modes - a) all-electric mode, b) all-petrol engine mode, and c) combination of electric motors and petrol engine.
Source - AutoCar India