- 2020 Honda City will make its official world premiere today in Thailand.
- It will arrive in India in 2020.
- It will make use of a hybrid powertrain for 33% more fuel efficiency.
The current-gen Honda City is going to be replaced with the next-gen model soon. Now the same has been spotted getting tested on the Indian roads ahead of its official world premiere today in Thailand.
If you recall, the original set of spy images of the fifth-gen City came out from Thailand in the month of June 2019. Since then, it has been spotted in and outside India on several occasions. The soon-to-be-unveiled model will be a direct replacement for the current-gen car which has been doing duties since 2014.
The most interesting bit to note here is that the company has stated - the fifth-gen City is going to be 33% more fuel-efficient. And we agree that this isn’t a small claim any standard. Also, this brings us to the point that such drastic improvement in fuel efficiency can only be achieved with the assistance of some sort of electrification along with the regular internal combustion engine.
Also, reports preceding the international reveal today strongly suggest that the upcoming Honda City will make use of hybrid technology. The current 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol will naturally be the default option on the India-spec model since there is no other engine that can replace it at the moment.
This will make use of a standard 5-speed manual transmission and an optional CVT (continuous variable transmission). But at the same time, new will be the use of the 2-motor e: HEV mild-hybrid system which will work in conjunction with the 1.5-liter i-VTEC petrol motor.
For the uninitiated, the Honda’s e: HEV mild-hybrid system is a more cost-effective derivative of the company’s time-tested but tad more expensive i-MMD technology. The same was also used in the all-new Jazz which made its international debut very recently at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show.
Expect the 2020 Honda City to launch in India next year.
Also Read: Honda Insight Hybrid spotted testing on Indian roads for the first time