Honda’s City has always been a popular choice with Indian car buyers, and the carmaker announced today that its mid-size sedan has recently crossed the seven-lakh unit sales milestone in India. Significantly, India has become the largest market for the City and accounts for 25 percent of the model’s sales worldwide.
“The City is our bestseller model in India and the only premium sedan to achieve cumulative sales of seven lakh units in the country. With a strong legacy of four generations, the City brand has evolved with the changing tastes and aspirations of our customers. We thank all our City customers for their patronage of the brand,” said Yoichiro Ueno, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd.
Honda started its India innings with the City in 1998, and is now in its fourth generation. The current model is also first to feature a diesel engine variant and is Honda’s best-selling City yet, with over 2.7 lakh units sold.
Earlier this year, Honda refreshed the City with tweaked styling and a host of new features such as electric sunroof, 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic LED headlamps, fog lamps, daytime running lamps and LED inserts for the tail-lamps. It also added a top-spec City ZX variant that got rain-sensing wipers, a boot-lid spoiler, 16-inch alloys and six airbags. Powering the sedan is the choice of a 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. Gearbox options include a five-speed manual or CVT for the petrol, while only a manual for the City diesel.
India recently overtook Indonesia to become Honda’s largest market in Asia, besides Japan and China. The brand is looking at launching six new models in the next three years, including the next-generation City. The fifth-generation City will come with a BS-VI diesel engine and a possible hybrid option as well, to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms. Also, expect the new model to get more premium, with plusher interiors and more features.
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