Honda Cars India kick-started its celebrations to commemorate 20 successful years of Honda City in India. Honda City started its journey in India in 1998, and now in its fourth generation avatar, has remained one of the longest running nameplates in the Indian automotive history. India is the largest and most important market for Honda City accounting for over 25% of the car’s current worldwide sales. The car continues to be an aspirational brand for many and enjoys huge brand loyalty amongst its customers.
Outstanding Legacy of Honda City
- 1998 – First Introduction of Honda City in India; First Honda model to be sold in India
- Two engine options – 1.3L and 1.5L in Petrol
- 2000 – VTEC engine introduced in Honda City
- 2001 – No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2003 – Second generation of Honda City launched in India
- Engine – 1.5L i-DSI
- New family car benchmark in India – Spacious, comfortable, fuel efficient
- Introduction of CVT variant – a first on an Indian car
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2004 – No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2005 – Launch of City ZX with new looks and new 1.5L VTEC engine
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2006 – No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2007 – 10th anniversary edition of City with ABS launched
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2008 – Third Generation of Honda City launched in India
- Engine – 1.5L i-VTEC introduced
- Safety equipment – ABS and Airbags as standard offering
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2009 – Honda City bags the Indian Car of the Year Award 2009
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2010 – No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2011 – First in Segment Sunroof introduced in new Honda City
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2012 – CNG ready version of Honda City introduced
- Touch screen AVN introduced
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2013 – World Premiere of 4th Generation of Honda City in India
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2014 – Launch of 4th Gen City in India – Most successful Honda City ever
- Engine options – 1.5L i-VTEC petrol and 1.5L i-DTEC diesel
- First time introduction of Diesel engine in Honda City
- Introduction of new generation CVT offering more fuel economy than manual variant
- 2015 – No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2016 – Safety equipment like ISO FIX introduced in Honda City
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
- 2017 – New Honda City launched
- Achieves cumulative sales of 7 lakh Honda City in India
- No 1 in JD Power Initial Quality Study
Generation-wise sales of Honda City in India
| Cumulative sales in India since launch | 7 lakhs | Fuel Type |
| 1st Generation City (1998 – 2003) | 59,378 | Petrol |
| 2nd Generation City (2003 – 2008) | 177,742 | Petrol |
| 3rd Generation City (2008 – 2013) | 192,939 | Petrol |
| 4th Generation City (2014 – till Nov 2017) and counting | 276,095 | Petrol/Diesel |
Honda City was developed as an Asian model, which became a global brand with presence in 60 countries and has registered cumulative sales of 3.6 million units globally. The Honda City has been a leader in Quality, being ranked No.1 in the JD Power Initial Quality Study for 15 times during its presence in the Indian market. Product quality, matched by excellent after-sales service at the dealerships, has generated strong positive word of mouth for Honda.
Expansion of Honda business strongly led by Honda City sales
- Dealer Network
- 1998 – 12 dealers in 11 cities
- 2017 – 349 outlets in 234 cities
- Tier 1 Supplier Network
- 1998 – 57 suppliers
- 2017 – 221 suppliers
Tier-wise market distribution of Honda City sales (generation wise)
Strong penetration of Honda City in Tier 3 markets in 4th generation due to large scale Dealer expansion and availability of Diesel variant.
| 1st Generation
(1998 – 2003) Petrol |
2nd Generation
(2003 – 2008) Petrol |
3rd Generation
(2008 – 2013) Petrol |
4th Generation
(2014 onwards) Petrol/ Diesel |
|
| Tier 1 | 68% | 70% | 67% | 53% |
| Tier 2 | 32% | 28% | 26% | 28% |
| Tier 3 | – | 2% | 7% | 19% |