Honda Begins Exporting Left-Hand Drive City From India; Will Export To Over 12 LHD Markets In 2021

Honda Cars India has begun exporting Made-in-India new-gen Honda City sedans to Left-Hand Drive (LHD) markets. This is the first time that the Japanese car manufacturer is exporting locally produced left-hand drive cars to an LHD market. Right now, Honda has begun the export of new City with the dispatch of the initial batch to Middle East countries from the Pipavav port in Gujarat and Ennore port in Chennai. However, the company has announced that it will be exporting the new City sedan to more than 12 Left-Hand Drive countries in 2021.

Honda says it will be exporting the new City sedan to more than 12 Left-Hand Drive countries in 2021

Speaking on the announcement, 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."

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Honda Cars India is targeting 3-fold increase in export volumes from the country

The company has been exporting the Right-Hand Drive (RHD) models of the new Honda City to South Africa since August 2020, and later to neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan from Oct 2020. Now, as the company starts exporting to LHD markets, Honda Cars India is targeting 3-fold increase in export volumes from the country. As for its other models, Honda has been exporting the Amaze and WR-V to Nepal, Bhutan, South Africa and SADC countries. The company says that it has been manufacturing all its volume models in India with more than 90 per cent localisation.

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In India, the 2020 Honda City comes with a pair of BS6 compliant petrol and diesel engine options. The former is a 1.5-litre i-VTEC DOHC engine tuned to make 118 bhp and 145 Nm of peak torque, while the oil burner, a 1.5-litre i-DTEC unit, offers 99 bhp and 200 Nm of peak torque. Both come with a 6-speed manual gearbox, however, the petrol option also gets the optional CVT automatic transmission. Currently, it is priced in India from Rs. 11 lakh to Rs. 14.85 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).