HCIL banking on existing Honda Civic customers to give the new model a head start - Report

13/08/2018 - 15:39 Honda Civic, Honda Anjan Ravi

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Gaku Nakanishi, president & CEO, Honda Cars India, said that the company is targeting existing owners of the Civic as prospective customers of the all-new Honda Civic due to launch this financial year. Nakanishi added that the previous Civic, launched in 2006, sold around 40,000 units in the Indian market, before its discontinuation in 2012.

The new Civic will launch in India with 2.0L petrol and 1.6L diesel engines with MT and AT 'boxes.

Honda will launch the tenth generation Civic which made its debut in 2016. However, India will get the facelifted MY19 version of the Civic which is yet to launch in global markets.

The petrol engine is expected to be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder i-VTEC naturally aspirated engine developing 154 PS and 189 Nm of torque, paired to manual and CVT options. The diesel Civic, a first for the Indian market, will use the 1.6-liter i-DTEC four-cylinder engine with a single turbocharger, producing 120 PS and 300 Nm of torque. Unlike the European model which uses twin turbocharging to develop 160 PS and 350 Nm of torque, the India-spec Civic will feature a single turbo. Deleting a turbocharger has reportedly saved Honda INR 1.5 lakhs in cost per unit.

Honda Civic dashboard left side view at Auto Expo 2018 — Competition for the Civic in India will come from the Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Elantra. Sedans such as the VW Jetta and Renault Fluence were discontinued due to poor sales.

Also read: Honda WR-V Alive edition launched, priced from INR 8.03 lakh

The diesel Civic will feature a 9-speed automatic transmission, similar to the new Honda CR-V which goes on sale in India this October. Both the CR-V and Civic will be assembled in India from Thai-made CKD kits. The 1.6-liter diesel engine is made in India at Honda's plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan. When launched, the Civic will take on the Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Elantra, and Toyota Corolla Altis.

[Source - AutocarPro.in]