Everyone is waiting for the all-new Honda City. A couple of my friends too are eager to have a go at this model. Well, I can purely understand the excitement part of it. Honda, affected by the virus, like everyone else has delayed the launch plans of their new car. In this case, the fifth-gen City. Rajesh Goel, the senior vice president, marketing and sales for Honda Cars India Limited, said [auto_blockquote title=”The all-new 5th generation Honda City is one of the eagerly awaited launches of this year. Due to the lockdown situation, we are working on its launch timelines to align it with production resumption, re-opening of dealership facilities, and also community normalcy. “][/auto_blockquote]
It is apparent that the City launch was expected in April. We can now safely assume a launch in June 2020. It could be a digital one given the current situation. However, of more interest is the fact that the older City will continue alongside the new one. This is the first time that Honda Cars India will do this with any of its models. Rajesh confirmed this by saying [auto_blockquote title=”Regarding the existing 4th gen City, it’s a very successful model and continues to be extremely popular. As you know, we recently introduced its BS6 version, so technically we can produce and sell it in BS6 regime as well. The City customers have predominantly been personal buyers and we will keep following the same strategy for the City brand.”][/auto_blockquote]
Contrary to rumours, there will not be a City taxi directed at the fleet market. Instead, the current and upcoming models are likely to co-exist. At present, the City is the most expensive car in its segment. We’re talking of cars like the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento here. The City starts at Rs 9.91 lakh whereas all others have a lower price point. It is likely that Honda might price the new City starting below Rs 10 lakh while the older one is likely to get a revision. Currently, there are offers of up to Rs 1 lakh off on the City. Perhaps an asking price of Rs 8.5 lakh, lone petrol engine, and only two variants will help Honda market the older City better, alongside the new one.
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In this fashion, the newer car will also have a breathing space. Given that the new City will have petrol and diesel engines, it will be the ideal upgrade for someone who has had the older car. This will also allow Honda to price the new City a bit closer to the Civic. Speaking of which, the Civic will get a diesel engine in the near future. This depends on the production resuming in full strength.
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