Japanese automaker Honda Cars entered the mainstream hybrid electric vehicle segment in India on Thursday with the City e:HEV sedan.
The car will go on sale in the country next month.
The New City e:HEV, according to the company, features a self-charging dual-motor e-CVT hybrid system mated to a 1.5-litre petrol engine and offers peak power of 126 hp and a fuel efficiency of 26, 5 km per liter. The car uses the electrical energy through braking and charges the lithium-ion battery itself, without the need to manually charge the battery.
In interaction with PeppystoresTakuya Tsumura, President and CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd, who recently took on this role, said: “I’m still new and I’m learning a lot of things…but I’m really excited to take on this role because India is the fourth largest market and it is also a very dynamic market.”
“I joined Honda in 1990 and was responsible for India from HQ from 1997 to 2000 when Honda started in India. When we started the business in India I was a junior member but founded Honda City in India. For me, after 20 years, this role is something for me. City has a very good position in India…so I’m very excited.
Actually it’s a very good start for me and I’m very excited to launch this model on the market,” he added.
When asked about the growth he’s seen for the company this year amid supply shortages and other challenges, he said: “Due to the current uncertainties, I don’t want to talk about long-term prospects. It’s hard to even predict today’s or tomorrow’s production…but I believe most OEM’s are in the same shape…in that sense at least based on market growth in India…we would do more than that try growth.”
Mr Tsumura said the company is doing fairly well in the market but there is still room to grow sales in the future and the company would bring cars that the Indian customer wanted to reach.
