Honda Cars India begins new-gen City exports to left-hand-drive markets
Honda Cars India has now started exporting the fifth-gen Honda City to left hand drive markets. The first batch of made-in-India LHD Honda City cars was dispatched recently from the Pipavav port in Gujarat and Ennore port in Chennai.
The first batch of cars are headed to markets in the Middle-East but this will increase to 12 left-hand-drive markets over the course of 2021. Honda Cars India has already begun exports of the new City to right-hand-drive markets, starting with South Africa in August 2020 and Nepal and Bhutan from Oct 2020. Along with the new City, also exported are the earlier fourth-gen City, WR-V and Amaze.
The new City is sold alongside the earlier car and is much larger now by being 4,549mm in length, 1,748mm in width, 1,489mm in height. The wheelbase has remained unchanged at 2,600mm. The City's structure has been reworked to be more rigid and interior space has grown as well. The redesigned cabin has been developed to improve visibility and make for a more soothing driving experience.
The car is being offered with one petrol and one diesel engine. The 1.5-litre petrol engine is a new DOHC unit and produces 121PS at 6,600 rpm and 145Nm at 4,300rpm. This engine can be optioned with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed CVT. The 1.5-litre i-DTEC has been carried over and puts out 100PS at 3,600rpm and 200Nm at 1,750rpm, paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. Prices for the City start from Rs 11.10 lakh for the base V petrol and go up to Rs 14.95 lakh for the VX diesel, ex-showroom.