IAB Report - Next gen Honda City reaches ARAI, nears its launch

A little birdie tells IndianAutosBlog.com that the next generation Honda City has reached the Automotive Research Association of India's Pune campus to undergo homologation.

Honda Cars India has not confirmed plans to unveil or launch the vehicle, but several media houses have reported that the car's global premiere would be conducted on the 25th of November in New Delhi. India is one of the City's biggest global markets, and that despite it lacking a diesel engine.

The next gen City could be based on the new Jazz, and would become the platform's third derivative, following the Urban SUV which is to be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show on the 20th of this month.

The Jazz, currently sold only in Japan, would voyage into global markets next year. Production at the Celaya plant in Mexico is slated to begin in Spring 2014 to serve the US, the Jazz's single largest market. As many components are shared between the two vehicles, Celaya and many other Jazz-producing factories stand the chance to make the City if a demand arises. The City would compete with the Nissan Sunny/Versa, Hyundai Verna/Accent, Ford Fiesta and the Toyota Vios in international markets, that fall under the global B-Segment.

Little else is known about the new City, which for the first time, will get a diesel option. The Amaze's 1.5L EarthDreams diesel engine, recalibrated for the bigger car, should join forces with the same 1.5-liter petrol engine from the current City that is hooked to a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic transmission.