Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) today announced that it will export its recently launched 5th Generation Honda City to Left Hand Drive countries. In a first for the company, this marks the beginning of production of Left Hand Drive models in India for exports and according to Honda, reaffirms its commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The company has begun the export of 5th Gen Honda City with the dispatch of the initial batch to Middle East countries from the Pipavav port in Gujarat and Ennore port in Chennai.
More details
HCIL has been exporting the Right Hand Drive models of the all-new City to South Africa since August 2020 and neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan from Oct 2020.
Official statement
Speaking on the announcement, Mr Gaku Nakanishi, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “Honda City has been the benchmark of sedans in India and addition of exports of its Left Hand Drive model to completely new destinations is a great opportunity for us to strengthen our India business. We have invested in creating an expansive world-class manufacturing facility at Tapukara which can produce both right hand and left-hand drive models that allows us to manage demand for domestic and international consumers. The 5th Generation City has been very well appreciated in the Indian market and we hope that we will be able to replicate this success and satisfy our global customers with its best quality & performance.”
“This is in line with our commitment towards ‘Make in India’ where HCIL has been manufacturing all its volume models with more than 90% localization and has been integral in developing a strong ecosystem in the country”, he further added.
HCIL has been exporting models including Amaze, WR-V & City to Nepal, Bhutan, South Africa and SADC countries. The export of 5th Generation Honda City (both right hand and left-hand drive) is the newest addition to the export business from India.
The 5th gen City is powered by a petrol engine is a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, iVTEC unit producing 119 BHP and 145 Nm paired to a 6-speed manual or a CVT. There is also a BS6-compliant 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel produces 98 BHP and 200 Nm, mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, on offer.