The City hybrid has been a unique product not just for Honda but also in its segment. The City e:HEV was launched back in May 2022 as one of the first mass market strong-hybrids in India. So far, the sedan was availanble in two trims – V and ZX – but now the brand has decided to sell the car in a single fully loaded ZX trim that's priced Rs 20.55 lakh (ex-showroom).
- City hybrid V trim has been discontinued
- ZX comes fully-equipped with ADAS, sunroof
Honda City hybrid sales in India: a snapshot
The City hybrid has been a slow seller right from launch, thanks to a significant premium of more than Rs 4 lakh over the regular City petrol. This clearly puts it out of its segment as far as pricing is concerned. Honda did introduce a slightly less equipped, more affordable trim of the City hybrid to attract more buyers; however this exercise did not work and sales have continued to be marginal till date. Dispatches of City hybrid have been around just 350 units a month, and total sales number is just around 2,000 unit mark
Honda City hybrid: variants and features
The City hybrid in its top-spec ZX trim comes fully equipped with safety features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and autonomous emergency braking. All this comes bundled in the Honda Sensing ADAS Suite. Additionally, the City hybrid gets six airbags, ORVM-mounted lane-watch cameras, multi-angle rear-view camera, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TMPS), vehicle stability assist, hill-start assist and ISOFIX-compatible rear seats. Honda has now also added seatbelt reminder chime for all five passengers.
Honda City hybrid: powertrain, fuel efficiency
The City hybrid comes with a unique Atkinson Cycle 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine mated to two electric motors. With the first motor acting as an electric generator and the other as a means of propulsion, the City hybrid boasts a claimed fuel economy figure of 27.13kpl. The powertrain is mated to an eCVT gearbox, and combined, produces 126hp and 253Nm of torque. It even automatically shuffles between full EV, hybrid and engine modes.
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