Next-generation Honda City to make its India debut at the 2020 Auto Expo

Honda Cars India refreshes the City once every 5 years. However, the 4th generation model, which is the current Honda City, will get a 6 year run in India, and it won’t be until early 2020 when the Japanese automaker brings in a successor to this hot selling sedan. The 2020 Auto Expo is expected to be the venue for the next-generation Honda City’s Indian debut. Internationally, the car is likely to be revealed a few months prior. Development of the new car is said to be almost over, according to Team-BHP sources.

The 5th generation Honda City is likely to be offered with petrol mild hybrid and diesel engine options. The 1.5 liter i-VTEC petrol engine with 117 Bhp-145 Nm will be paired to a mild hybrid system, similar to what is offered on the Maruti Ciaz SHVS Petrol.

This will allow Honda to comfortably clear the upcoming Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms. As for the diesel, the 1.5 liter i-DTEC motor with 98.6 Bhp-200 Nm will be carried over but with major engineering changes to make it compatible with the new emission norms. The City Diesel is expected to get a lot pricier thanks to the addition of expensive emission control equipment.

Manual and CVT automatic gearbox options are likely to be offered with the petrol engine with the diesel likely to continue in manual-only guise. While there’s talk of Honda offering a CVT automatic option with the diesel powered model as well, such a move would make the City Diesel very pricey. Meanwhile, the car’s styling is likely to be evolutionary, building upon the design of the 4th generation model. The exact design changes on the car’s exteriors are likely to be revealed in a few months from now. On the inside, Honda is expected to give the new City classy yet hard wearing interiors, with styling similar to that of the new Civic.

A slew of new features are also likely to be on offer as this is a trait that successive generations of the City sedan have shown. After showcasing the new City sedan at the 2020 Indian Auto Expo, Honda is expected to launch the car during March 2020. This means that we’re about a year away from the new car’s launch in the Indian market. The City, which saw a facelift in 2017, continues to be a strong seller in the C-Segment sedan space, where it rivals the Maruti Ciaz and the Hyundai Verna.

For now though, the City is in either 2nd or 3rd place in its segment thanks to updated rivals. The full model change next year could help the Honda City retake its numero uno position in the C-Segment sedan market – a status that the car has held for years until the Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz arrived.