There are at least six new sedans that will launch in India within a year. Our list of upcoming sedans in India comprises facelifts, variants, and all-new models.
Upcoming Sedans in India in 2019
1. New Honda Civic
With its media preview and drive scheduled in mid-February 2019, the facelifted version of the tenth-gen Honda Civic should go on sale by the end of next month. The new Honda Civic will rival the Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia in India. Its petrol variant should come with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, iVTEC naturally aspirated petrol engine that outputs 154 PS and 189 Nm. Also, there will be a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, iDTEC turbocharged diesel engine on offer. This engine will offer 120 PS and 300 Nm.
The diesel engine will come mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission, which is similar to what the India-spec new Honda CR-V offers. The new Civic will come to India via CKD-route from Thailand. The 1.6-litre diesel engine for the car, however, will be produced at the company’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan. The Honda Civic is among the most awaited upcoming sedans in India, and HCIL is banking on existing Honda customers to get sales traction off the starting line.
2. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz 1.5 D
The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is reportedly about to receive the much awaited in-house-developed E15A 1.5-litre diesel motor with a 6-speed transmission. The new engine outputs 95.30 PS and 225 Nm, which will put it in the league of the Honda's 1.5-litre iDTEC motor that produces 100 PS and 200 Nm. The new oil burner will be initially sold in the BSIV guise and will leap to BSVI compliance in early 2020. The new unit won't feature the SHVS mild-hybrid system that is available on the D13A 1.3-litre diesel and K15B 1.5-litre petrol engine options.
It is said that the new engine variant will be sold alongside the current diesel version until the company phases out the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre unit due to its inability to achieve BSVI compliance.
3. New Toyota Camry
The new-generation Toyota Camry will launch on January 18. The new Camry will offer a petrol-electric hybrid variant that will be assembled at the company's Bidadi facility near Bangalore. Prices are expected to start at roughly INR 40 lakh.
Powering the new Camry will be a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol unit that outputs 176 hp and 221 Nm of torque, along with a 118hp (88kW) electric motor, with the total output pegged at 208 hp. The new-gen Camry features Toyota Hybrid System II, which comprises a lighter Power Control Unit and shifts the battery pack from the trunk to under the rear seat. This has resulted into lower energy losses.
4. 2019 Hyundai Elantra (facelift)
The 2019 Hyundai Elantra should be here by Q3 2019. The mid-life facelift for the sixth-generation Elantra brings a handful of styling changes, which include the signature Cascading effect grille, a bold new bumper and a set of new fog lamps which lend the front-end a look that is unseen on any Hyundai model.
Even the rear gets many changes. The license plate housing has moved to the bumper, and the L-shaped tail lights make the posterior look radically different. Engine options for the India-spec 2019 Elantra are likely to be carried over from the current model.
5. 2019 Volkswagen Vento (facelift)
Speaking exclusively to IAB, Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen India, revealed that the India-spec Volkswagen Vento will receive a second facelift as the company has been working on changing the car's appearance. The facelift for the VW Vento will help it remain relevant to the market until the advent of a complete model replacement in the year 2022.
Knapp said that the next upcoming Vento facelift would be “more in the lines of evolution, rather than in the lines revolution.” Hence, safely expect the engine specifications pretty much the same. The new VW Vento could go on sale in India by mid 2019.
6. Amaze CVT top-end trims
With monthly sales touching 5-digit volume, Honda Cars India will launch the diesel CVT variant in the top-end VX trim. This is after many customers came into dealerships asking for a fully loaded automatic variant. With its introduction, the Honda Amaze VX diesel CVT will become the most expensive trim-level of the company's sub-4-metre C1-segment sedan.
At the moment, the Amaze diesel CVT is available in the S, and V grades. Hence, the buyers of the CVT-equipped Amaze diesel miss out on features like a 17.7 cm touchscreen infotainment unit with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, rear camera, remote control, steering-mounted voice controls, cruise control, and an additional USB port.
7. Maruti-badged Toyota Corolla
With an aim to sell 10,000 units a year, Maruti Suzuki will reportedly step into the D1-segment of the Indian car market with a rebadged Toyota Corolla in the festive season of 2019.
Maruti Suzuki is said to have started testing prototypes of the rebadged Corolla at the R&D centre in Rohtak, Haryana. The company will re-engineering the current model instead of the more modern TNGA-based twelfth generation version to keep costs from escalating. The Maruti Suzuki-badged sedan should offer distinct soft parts, like new bumpers, grille, and headlights, to help it differentiate from the donor model. The interior is expected to remain largely unchanged, with the only differences arising out of revised upholstery and a new infotainment unit.
