Honda Car India re-launched the Accord sedan in India on October 25. The previous generation of the sedan was on sale in India till 2013. In its latest avatar, the Accord gets hybrid powertrain and it is also priced premium. A price of Rs 37 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi seems to have not differed customers as the first batch of car are already sold out.
Honda commenced booking for the Accord hybrid in the beginning of October. The first lot of 27 Accord Hybrids are already sold, reports Autocar Professional citing Jnaneswar Sen, senior VP (Sales and Marketing), Honda Cars India. The second lot of the Accord hybrid is expected to reach Indian shores in early 2017 and deliveries are expected from March.
Honda Car India is importing Accord hybrid as Completely Built Unit (CBU) from Thailand and that attracts customs duties of 60 percent. In addition, the Accord hybrid is not benefitted from the FAME scheme of Central government for electric vehicles and hybrids as it is not manufactured in India. This has shot up the price of Accord hybrid by a premium of Rs 6 lakh over the main rival, Toyota Camry hybrid. The Camry hybrid is price at Rs 30.90 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.
Accord hybrid comes powered by a 2.0-litre Atkinson Cycle i-VTEC four-cylinder petrol engine coupled with two electric motors connected to 1.3 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The petrol unit can churn out a power of 143bhp at 6,200rpm and 175Nm of peak torque at 4,000rpm. It is mated to an E-CVT transmission. The combined output of the hybrid powertrain stands at 213bhp and it returns a claimed fuel efficiency of 23.1kmpl.
