[Behemoth]

Very good move by Honda and I have a feeling that Honda will have a huge demand for this hybrid version and it will end up with long waiting periods of a year.
Strong Hybrids are actually a lot more practical for India currently and make more sense to me especially vs the BEVs available. These kind of cars have been prevalent and very successful in other Asian markets like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand for a long time and their benefits are immense and that too without the range anxiety of a Battery electric vehicle. If priced aggressively and freely available in good monthly numbers, this can steal the limelight away from the Skoda-Vw twins. I hope that this launch also inspires Skoda to bring with Octavia IV also to India.

Bring it on Honda!

[Latheesh]

I think they will have just one variant (top) for the hybrid and price it around 17.5-18L ex-showroom.
For reference Hybrid is priced around 18% higher than the top CVT variant in Malaysia. ZX CVT is ~15L ex-showroom here, and it comes ~17.7L if we add 18%.

[Palio_2005]

Hi. I have a question about GST. Isn't it correct that Hybrids attract 28% GST and not the lower GST slab for electric cars

[Rohan1511]

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

Hi. I have a question about GST. Isn't it correct that Hybrids attract 28% GST and not the lower GST slab for electric cars

You're definitely right and i had the same question as well. I'm super glad Honda is finally bringing it's Hybrid tech to India, I believe Toyota is also planning for the same to bring an affordable hybrid before a full EV.
The GST part is very confusing to me as well. 28% would make it go over the expected price range.

In any case, i sincerely hope the Government acts on this as soon as possible and reduce Hybrid taxation on cars. Seeing that they're promoting EV's and Hydrogen fuelled cars, they need to understand the mass users will not be able to adapt quickly.

Looking forward to the Hybrid Honda City unveil on 14th April! I may even exchange my old 4th gen City for the Hybrid City!

[TheBigV]

Today visited my Honda dealer for regular service of my City. As per the SA, there would be only 1 trim for the hybrid variant and the price would be around 20 lakhs onroad.

[Anjadekar]

I am hoping against hope that the City Hybrid is not offered in the RS trim alone (like in Malaysia) and that the equivalent of the ZX trim is offered too. I'm not a fan of the RS aesthetic and a Hybrid City with the ZX interiors (and, one can only dream, an upgraded ICE unit and better speakers) would be just super!

[k491]

I was leaning towards buying the Slavia 1.5 DSG, but this news has me excited. Quick google search shows the City Hybrid can do 0 to 100 in 9.5 secs, 0.5 secs slower than Slavia but considering the better drivability in stop move traffic and the massive difference in fuel economy definitely making me think a lot about my choice.

[Carpainter]

Being a Honda car owner currently it's a huge relief indeed to see the company committing to a new futuristic product in India. I think this will put all those rumours about them leaving India to sleep atleast for a couple of years. In fact this could be a success story for them because I personally always believe that a hybrid vehicle is the starting point for a country like ours where adaptation to any new technology (read BEV) is slow and charging infrastructure is non existent. Cars like City eHEV will give customers a taste of electric vehicle to move to the next stage like PHEV and BEV when the infrastructure will be in place. Also in the current scenario where fuel prices are deregulated when international crude oil price is going up but regulated when it's going down, a hybrid vehicle like this makes perfect sense to keep the wallet leakage in check. Of course all this depends on the pricing but going by the rumours if this is launched at a premium of within 2 lakhs of Zx variant then this is going to be a big launch from Honda. In fact Zx variant will be the one most affected. The initial upfront extra payment will be set off in the long run. I'll be eagerly waiting for April 14th for sure.

[Torqueceptor]

Originally Posted by Rohan1511

You're definitely right and i had the same question as well. I'm super glad Honda is finally bringing it's Hybrid tech to India, I believe Toyota is also planning for the same to bring an affordable hybrid before a full EV.
The GST part is very confusing to me as well. 28% would make it go over the expected price range.

In any case, i sincerely hope the Government acts on this as soon as possible and reduce Hybrid taxation on cars. Seeing that they're promoting EV's and Hydrogen fuelled cars, they need to understand the mass users will not be able to adapt quickly.

Looking forward to the Hybrid Honda City unveil on 14th April! I may even exchange my old 4th gen City for the Hybrid City!

God this 28% GST will be a bummer. Seriously considering this car but a price over 20 L on road is not exciting enough for a Honda City . If this is the case I intend to wait for the long range Nexon EV as a city car.

[Guru_Shikhar]

Honda is ready with its answer against the VW twins. It can be a turning point for Honda since most of the new purchasers will surely be looking at such options which gives a good balance a hybrid vehicle has to offer.
It’s time for GOI to rethink taxation on hybrids and offer some discount/ waver / a tax slab concession as offered to the EVs to some extent and encourage hybrid sales too.
The complete electrification of automobiles in our country is a very distant dream and there is no option but to use ICE and fossil fuels for at least next 60-80 years. Simple example is the electricity needed for electric vehicle charging is achieved by using coal burning

Hybrids are best bet for Indian market keeping a balance.

Hope Honda prices this well and gets an upper hand.

Cheers.

[buntee90]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Strong Hybrids are actually a lot more practical for India currently and make more sense to me especially vs the BEVs available. If priced aggressively and freely available in good monthly numbers, this can steal the limelight away from the Skoda-Vw twins. I hope that this launch also inspires Skoda to bring with Octavia IV also to India.

Bring it on Honda!

Agree with the Strong hybrids part fully, but I found the Skoda VW twins being in the Limelight part little funny. Apart from a small section of enthusiasts no one wants them seriously. Whereas City is liked across the spectrum and sales numbers also prove that.

Either way With city hybrid coming and rumoured Hybrid Toyota-Maruti crossover; exciting times ahead !

[arvindtayal]

When can we expect plug-in hybrid electric cars to come to India. To me they are the real hybrid compared to these, where you generate electricity using petrol engine.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Okay this looks like something serious. If I get this car for the same price as the Slavia 1.5 DSG, then I would have to think again on my decision. A hybrid powertrain + all the additional features would mostly convince me to give up on the Slavia. The only compromise would be poorer performance and highway ride.

Poorer performance? Not really - the electric motors ensure there is a slug of instant torque when needed. The City Hybrid launched in Malaysia achieved the sprint from 0-100 kmph in just 9.9 seconds. The normal City does 0-100 in 10.2 seconds according to Autocar. The hybrid also hit a top speed of 173 kmph. in tests.

The fuel consumption is rated at 26.5 kmph. Handling are likely to be better in hybrids due to a larger battery pack what lowers the center of gravity of the car. So really it is the best of all worlds!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Poorer performance? Not really - the electric motors ensure there is a slug of instant torque when needed. The City Hybrid launched in Malaysia achieved the sprint from 0-100 kmph in just 9.9 seconds. The normal City does 0-100 in 10.2 seconds according to Autocar. The hybrid also hit a top speed of 173 kmph. in tests.

Poorer performance compared to the Slavia 1.5. Of course this car wont be sluggish. The thing with electric motors is that the initial torque from zero makes you go crazy, but do the same thing at a higher speed and it wont be so exciting. Have driven electric cars from the rather small Smart electric all the way till the EQS and I have felt this very evident in all electric cars. Nothing compared to a high powered engine kickdown and take off until redline. This will be missed in the city.

[charanreddy]

Finally Honda is right on time. They were late to the diesel party and launched diesel very close to when govt. ended subsidy. They haven't arrived yet to the CSUV party except for a lackluster WRV. Given how petrol prices are trending, a high mileage figure will get people back to the showroom for a reason other than the Brand itself.

Pricing is key. If they price it well out of range of the current City, then it will remain a niche product. They need to take a relative hit on pricing to show they mean business in India.