The much-awaited Honda City Hybrid will be unveiled in India on April 14, 2022. Globally introduced in August 2020, the City Hybrid was originally slated to go on sale in India in 2021 itself, but was delayed due to Covid-19 related lockdowns and production constraints. The City Hybrid will be Honda’s first new model for India since the facelifted Jazz went on sale in August 2020.

• City Hybrid gets 1.5-litre petrol engine with two electric motors
• Can be run on electric power alone
• Will be first Honda in India to get Honda Sensing safety suite

Honda City Hybrid: powertrain details

The City Hybrid uses Honda’s i-MMD hybrid technology that brings together an internal combustion engine and two electric motors. Under the hood, it features a 98hp, 127Nm, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated Atkinson Cycle petrol engine.

The petrol engine comes paired with an electric motor that assists and acts as an integrated starter-generator (ISG). Meanwhile, a second electric motor, producing 109hp and 253Nm of torque, sends drive to the front wheels via a bespoke gearbox with a single, fixed-gear ratio.

The hybrid setup is also likely to enable three drive modes – one where just the electric motors are used, one where just the internal combustion engine runs (a lock-up clutch sends power to the wheels directly), and a third which allows for a combination of both.

Globally, the Honda i-MMD hybrid tech is also offered on the CR-V hybrid and the new-gen Jazz that was never offered in India.

This should enable the City Hybrid to be run on electric power alone in urban environs, thereby greatly helping fuel economy. Out on the highway, the hybrid powertrain will also be able to boost performance on the mid-size sedan.

Honda City Hybrid: to get Honda Sensing, revised styling

The City Hybrid is already on sale in markets like Malaysia, where its styling is similar to the global-spec City RS. We expect a similar treatment on the India-spec model as well. As such, the City Hybrid gets sportier looking front and rear bumpers with new black accents on the grille, ORVMS and bumpers. It also gets an all-black theme for the interior.

Honda recently also confirmed that the City Hybrid will be offered with the Honda Sensing technology in India. Honda Sensing is essentially the Japanese carmaker’s suite of active safety features that include lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, auto high beam assist, emergency braking and front collision warning system. The City Hybrid will, then, be the first Honda in India to be offered with this safety suite.

Honda City hybrid: expected pricing for India

We had reported earlier that Honda aims to sell around 250-300 units of the City hybrid each month, which translates to about 10 percent of the regular model’s average monthly sales figure. The automaker has set a conservative target and is not banking on large volumes, as the hybrid is expected to command a Rs 2 lakh-2.5 lakh premium over the petrol sedan. As such, the top-end variant of the City hybrid is expected to come in at around Rs 18 lakh, ex-showroom.

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