Indian Autos blog

The Brazilian automotive market and the Indian automotive market are quite similar when it comes to the products that are offered.

In fact, the Ford EcoSport, which we are so kicked about, initially started testing in Brazil. But now there is a reverse scenario.

The facelifted Honda was first launched in Thailand and then in India quite a while back. Now, the City heads westwards to Brazil. Our good friends at Autossegredos have caught a lightly camouflaged test mule of the City in Brazil.

By Gaurav Malik and Shakti Budhiraja

The Honda City facelift was launched in New Delhi today. The facelifted version receives a handful of tweaks and each and every one of them are based on results of customer study. Bookings of the new City have begun but deliveries start only in mid-January.

After the natural calamities in Japan earlier this year production at the Noida facility slipped to 50% only to be upset again by the Thai floods. Honda then had to stop production of Jazz and Brio due to supply constraints. Honda says production of these two models will resume in February next year.

The City is not affected by the situation and components have been sourced from China and Japan to meet demand. Besides, Honda has reached a better localization level to continue production.

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Lovers of the king of the C-Segment, the Honda City, have reason to cheer as Honda SIEL today afternoon unveiled a revised version in New Delhi. Make no mistake, there are no changes under the skin and the operation is purely cosmetic.

Honda City facelift exterior additions

• New chrome grille
• Restyled front & rear bumper
• New tail lights
• 10 spoke alloys
• Improved ground clearance, now stands at 165 mm

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Putting an end to the immense speculation on the status of the new City post the Thai floods, Honda has notified IAB that the launch is scheduled for the 14th of December in New Delhi. The refreshed model is similar to the model launched in Thailand a few months back.

Mechanicals are likely to be left undisturbed. Cosmetic touches such as new grille, tail lamps, fog light surrounds, honeycomb alloy wheel design instill energy into the aging segment leader. Honda has added the Eco Meter that promotes light-footed acceleration to the new model.

Will Honda revise prices of the City once again?

After we speculated on two dates that were floating around the internet posing as the D-Day of the City facelift, sources have told IndianAutosBlog.com that Honda may not launch the facelifted model in December.

Considering that Honda has drastically cut down production at the Greater Noida facility due to the supply constraints the Thailand floods have caused we doubt if Honda is planning an updated model this year.

It is learned that despite being heavily localized, Honda depends on Thailand for certain important components.

The City facelift is purely a cosmetic update with no changes under the hood. Among other changes, the City gets a redesigned brake light, fog lamp housing, ECO meter and new wheels.

Thinking of buying the Honda City? Currently, there are fabulous offers going on for this particular Honda sedan. And I am pretty sure that you would know the reason as well. Yes, Honda is planning a facelift of the new City. Nothing major changes; just a little nip and tuck here and there.

Revised chrome grille, fog lamp housing, wheels and tail lamps are changes that matter most

Now, you might think that “Obviously, the new Honda city will launch at the Auto Expo in January 2012”. Well, if such is the case, you are in for a surprise. Honda Siel India has decided to not wait until next year and are planning to launch the refreshed City in mid December.

TheEconomicTimes reports that the new City will have high levels of localization, so expect the City to get slightly cheaper. What to expect in the new City you ask? The new City will have:

• A chrome finish to the front grill
• Slight tweak to the front bumper
• Redesigned tail lamps
• Reflectors placed at the bottom of the rear bumper
• Inclusion of the ECO meter (à la Brio)

It would be very interesting if Honda manages to retain the current prices of the City while offering these new goodies. I guess we will have to wait till December to find out.

click through for Thai version facelift brochure

Sources tell IndianAutosBlog.com that Honda is likely to launch the facelifted edition of the City during the third week of November. The upgrade is purely cosmetic with a revised front-end, new tail lamps, alloy wheels and read-outs.

Test mules of the revised City covered with surgical tapes have been running around the Greater Noida plant over the last few months.

Recently launched in Thailand, the refreshed City makes its way to other markets in a phased manner.

Honda will retain the currently serving powertrains (1.5L petrol with 5-speed MT and AT). A notable addition is the ECO Meter which promotes fuel-efficient driving.

We have to wait and see if there is another revision in prices. Honda lacks the advantage of the diesel engine that is catching up fast in this segment. The facelift need not discourage buyers from purchasing a car now as the changes on the new model are purely cosmetic.

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After seeing a few tough months the Honda City is finally back on the sales charts beating the VW Vento by a massive margin. The City was being challenged by a power-packed bunch of competitors like the Vento, Verna, Fiesta, etc but despite all that and with the help of the hefty price cut, City sales are back to normal levels.

The increasing demand of diesels gave a clear advantage to the Vento but it seems like the lack of features like a good music system and steering mounted controls is keeping many away from the VW dealerships. Honda sold 5819 units of the city where VW could sell 3019 units of the Vento. Note that the Honda sells only Petrol cars whereas the Vento is available in both types of fuels.

Volkswagen blames the poor sales to the increase in interest rates and fuel prices but if this is the case then it should have affected Honda as well. This proves that the desirability factor of the Honda City is well in tact even though it is available only with a petrol Engine.

Is it high time VW brings in an upgraded Vento in the market. The car is in much need of good features which its competitors offer like a good music system, parking sensors, steering-mounted controls and even smaller features like electronically retractable exterior mirrors.

With the Nissan Sunny and the Skoda sedan expected in the next six months, Vokswagen needs to act quickly to keep the interest in the Vento alive.