New Honda City with diesel engine to be unveiled this month

Honda is all ready to unveil it's 6th Generation Honda City armed with the all-new Diesel i-Dtec engine.

 

Honda's most popular sedan— Honda City's fourth-generation variant is slated to be unveiled this month at the Tokyo Motor Show with a fresh crisp design and would be bigger than the current model and carry premium features in a move to wrest back its coveted top slot that it had lost to Hyundai Verna.

The new City would also have the option of a diesel-powered car, the first from Honda Motors, which is currently riding on the success of its Amaze compact sedan, which also offers a diesel option. With over 35,000 Amaze having been sold since April, Honda is aiming for leadership in the mid-size sedan segment.

According to a source, the new City comes close on the heels of Honda's renewed strategy to gain volumes. Honda has bucked the general trend with sales growing 69% to 59,617 units in April-September period. The new City would be available in six to eight variants of 1.5 petrol & diesel engines and would also have automatic transmission option.

The City is based on the discontinued Jazz hatchback platform and will have more design lines flowing on the exterior to make it more fluidic styled and appealing for the C-segment customers.

It would have bigger wrap around clear lens headlamps with projector lights to give a clean look with a totally reworked integrated LED tail-lights on the rear. According to the same source, the City, which has been the mainstay for Honda Cars in India, would now be bigger in size and positioned above the current model to provide differentiation for the sub 4-metre Amaze compact sedan and also take up the vacuum of Civic that was phased out earlier this year.

Honda Cars India did not share any information on the launch date. Replying to an email questionnaire sent to the company, a spokesperson said, "We are not in a position to respond to your queries at this time." An analyst tracking the sedan segment says, the 2014 Honda City sedan could be a force to reckon with.

Abhishek Singh

PGDM 1ST YEAR

SOURCE - TIMES OF INDIA