Arguably the best affordable strong hybrid car, the Honda City e:HEV, could soon receive a considerable price tag amid discussions around localising hybrid powertrain in the Indian market.
The e:HEV hybrid powertrain that’s offered with the City e:HEV comes as a direct import, thereby being imposed with heavy import duties. Localising the hybrid powertrain will decrease the prices by a large margin in cost savings and some of that could trickle down to the customers.
At Rs 20.50 lakh ex-showroom, the Honda City e:HEV hybrid is rather pricey. Spec to spec, the City hybrid commands a premium of 4.15 lakh over the City petrol CVT, making it close to an illogical upgrade.
The Honda City e:HEV comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine that’s mated to a small-capacity battery pack and an electric motor. Its self-charging hybrid powertrain puts out 126 PS of power and claims a fuel efficiency of 26.5kmpl.
Honda Cars India has committed to launch 3 new cars in the Indian market by 2026-27. We already know that one of three is going to be the Elevate EV, which is slated for 2026 launch while details for the remaining models are sparse.