Honda rejigs variant line-up of fourth-gen City

Honda Cars India (HCIL) has rejigged the grade line-up of the fourth-generation City sedan, which, in a maiden ‘dual-model’ strategy for the carmaker, is continuing to be sold in the market even as it has launched the new model on July 15.

While the new fifth-generation City has been introduced in V, VX and ZX trims, Honda Cars India has now limited the older car’s offerings to the mid-spec SV and V trims in order to enhance the car’s market reach and cater to a wider set of audience by keeping it more affordable.

The prices for SV AT Rs 929,000 and V at Rs 999,000 are noticeably lower than the fifth-generation model which is priced between Rs 1,090,000 and Rs 1,465,000 ex-showroom, Delhi.

Old vs New
Even though Honda is trying to pull the buyer to the immensely successful City brand in the Indian market by widening the portfolio, the variant shuffling is also an attempt to keep a distinction between the two generations of the same model, as well as avoid cannibalisation and have a better pricing strategy.

Where the new model is available in both petrol and dieselengines, the older one is now being restricted to a petrol-only offering. Furthermore, while the earlier car will continue with the BS VI-compliant, 1.5-litre SOHC unit, the new car gets an updated and more powerful DOHC powerplant, albeit, based on the same fundamentals.

In terms of transmission options, the fifth-generation City gets a 6-speed manual gearbox with both the petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engine, as well as a 7-step CVT, while the old car will only get a 5-speed manual transmission option.

The company has also brought an array of comfort and safety features in the fifth-generation model such as six airbags, VSA, LED headlamps and tail lamps as well as a lane-watch camera, which will remain absent from the older car that will offer dual airbags, ABS and EBD as the standard safety equipment.

According to Rajesh Goel, SVP and director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India, “While the all-new fifth-generation Honda City has created a new benchmark of supremacy, occupying the most premium position in the mid-size sedan segment, we had decided to continue selling the fourth-generation car as it continues to be a popular model with its contemporary styling and is also BS VI-compliant. With continuation of the fourth-generation Honda City in SV and V grades, we have ensured that the City brand is available to wider set of customers in terms of trims and different price points in the mid-size sedan segment.”

Honda has cumulatively sold over 350,000 units of the fourth-generation City in the Indian market, since its launch in January 2014.