[Carpainter]

A test model of the Fit four-door sedan that's currently sold in other markets as the Honda City has now turned up in California. The car sports a license plate reportedly used by Honda for vehicles in its public-relations fleet.
It was spotted near the company's facility in Torrance, California.
A "City" badge is clearly visible on the left side of the trunk lid, although it's possible Honda could change the car's name if it decides to launch it in the U.S. Honda would most likely fit the 1.5-liter Earth Dreams four-cylinder engine used in the Fit hatchback and the HR-V if the City sedan arrived in the U.S. The Honda plant that already builds the Fit and HR-V in Celaya, Mexico, could potentially add capacity for the City as well.

When Honda unveiled the current-generation City in late 2013, it said the car would eventually be sold in more than 60 markets worldwide.
While the U.S. still hasn't been confirmed as one of those markets, the presence of a City on the streets of California suggests that Honda is seriously considering the possibility.

[libranof1987]

Where would they position it? Civic is already fairly entry-level; City isn't comparable so I wonder what the value proposition is.

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Where would they position it? Civic is already fairly entry-level; City isn't comparable so I wonder what the value proposition is.

Brand new entry level car choices ( less than $15,000 ) are few and far between in the U.S., nowadays.

The cheapest B segment sedans are :
Nissan Versa (our very own Sunny, based on the Micra hatch) starts at $11,990.
Ford Fiesta (same as our new Fiesta) starts at $13,200.
Kia Rio (not sold in India) starts at $13,600.
Chevrolet Sonic (not sold in India, succeeded the Aveo) starts at $14,170.
Hyundai Accent (same as our Verna) starts at $14,540.

Curiously, the corresponding hatch bodystyle for each of these starts at a higher price point than the sedan sister car.

Also, for reference :
The Honda Fit (same as the upcoming Jazz) hatch starts at $15,425.
The Honda Civic sedan (not sold in India, and there is no hatch offered in the U.S.) starts at $20,110.

Clearly, Honda sees open space between the above 2 models ... which is what the value proposition is.

All prices are taken from http://www.edmunds.com

[GTO]

Unlikely, I'd be highly surprised if the City was launched in the USA.

The new City was positioned in India to fill the space between the 3rd-gen City & discontinued Civic. The higher variants moved up a notch.

It might also be recollected that when the 3rd-gen City was launched in 2008, Civic sales fell overnight. In the eyes of the mass market, it offered 90% of the Civic at 70% of the price.

Honda sells ~25,000 Civics each month in the USA. No way they're going to bring in a cheaper model that can threaten it.

[Carpainter]

One question that comes to my mind is how Honda will improve the quality of the new City if and when it will be launched in U.S. The new City suffers from various quality issues described by various owners in their ownership reports. I hope the same will not happen when they'll launch the car in U.S. market. I'll be waiting to see what Honda will do to improve the cheap image of the car.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

Honda sells ~25,000 Civics each month in the USA. No way they're going to bring in a cheaper model that can threaten it.

Moreover, these sedans are considered entry level in the US, not family cars like here in India. The City with its big boot might not offer much in terms of value as compared to the Fit hatchback for their market.

Even in terms of perceived image- Fit is considered an average sized hatchback while City might get considered as a cheap sedan for their market that thinks Civic is entry level.

Honda doesn't have much to gain here. Wonder what they are testing in the US!

[rajushank84]

Maybe its an all-electric model positioned to compete with the Nissan Leaf. Just a guess.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

One question that comes to my mind is how Honda will improve the quality of the new City if and when it will be launched in U.S. The new City suffers from various quality issues described by various owners in their ownership reports. I hope the same will not happen when they'll launch the car in U.S. market. I'll be waiting to see what Honda will do to improve the cheap image of the car.

I assume it will not be the India spec version of the City that they will launch in US (if they plan to launch). If I am not mistaken, the version of the City sold in countries like Thailand and Malaysia, get a fair bit of extra kit and different engine/transmission options. So I think it would be safe to assume that the quality of the car will also be a notch above what is sold in India.

[srishiva]

With Civic reportedly being based on Accord platform (or both based on a new global platform) for the 10th gen and getting bigger, chances of City being introduced is not that far fetched. Could be in a hybrid form !

Civic currently is facing lot of competition and needs a upgrade to stay relevant.

[GTO]

Spotted not one, but TWO 4th-gen Honda Citys in California. I thought this was an Asia-spec model? Are these cheap imports from Mexico?

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by GTO

Spotted not one, but TWO 4th-gen Honda Citys in California. I thought this was an Asia-spec model? Are these cheap imports from Mexico?
Attachment 2620843

That looks like a Baja CA, Mexico registration plate. Renault Duster, Suzuki Jimny, VW Virtus, Hyundai Verna are all common in Mexico. Lot of people from Baja CA, drive around CA. You also see lot of CA registered cars in all of Baja, Mexico.

This is 15N, where are you GTO? Looks like my neck of the woods.
-GG