2014 Honda Accord Hybrid coming to India

Honda will launch the Accord Hybrid in India in 2014. The Accord Hybrid will be the new generation car which is already on sale in international markets like North America. As we had reported earlier, the current Accord has already been discontinued due to poor sales. The new generation Accord meanwhile will only be available in one trim and with one drivetrain option (hybrid) and will be assembled in India. 

Honda has experimented with hybrids before in India but the Civic Hybrid which came in via the CBU route a few years back failed thanks to an inconceivably high price tag. Honda did drop the price of the Civic hybrid significantly soon after in a bid to clear stocks and stopped sales of the car soon after.

The Accord will clearly fare better. To begin with it is an expensive car already. So, even if the Accord Hybrid retails at close to Rs 30 lakh (which is about 6-7 lakh more than the current Accord), it will still be acceptable, especially given its added benefits. For one, it will be a lot more fuel efficient particularly in the city. Secondly, it will also be quieter and if Honda has done its homework right, it will also equip the Accord Hybrid with more comfort and convenience features. 

We have already seen Toyota take this route with the Camry Hybrid. And soon after the hybrid was launched Toyota stopped selling the Camry petrol altogether. And to get the pricing right, Toyota went the CKD route with the Camry as well. Though the car isn’t exactly flying off the shelves, it does make a stronger and more sensible case for itself given the lack of a diesel engine.

The Accord Hybrid meanwhile uses a 2-litre petrol engine with 141PS of max power and 165Nm of peak torque, and a lithium-ion battery run 166PS AC Synchronous electric motor that produces a maximum torque of 306Nm from the word go. The combined output is rated at a handsome 196PS. The transmission, as is the case with most hybrids, is an e-CVT unit, much like the Toyota Camry Hybrid. And like the latter, the Accord Hybrid too can either run on electric power or on petrol power or a combination of both.