The City is one of the best-selling Honda vehicles in the Philippines. Last year, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) sold more than 3,000 units of the City, making it the second best-selling car of the brand last 2020.
With that in mind, the Honda City is one of the models that are driven to help HCPI’s recovery in the local market. In 2020, Honda reportedly posted a 74-percent drop in sales, which is primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The said drop is expected since the pandemic brought upon limited economic activity and low demand for cars.
2021 Honda City Sedan - V variant (left); RS variant (right)
Despite that, HCPI still managed to end 2020 on a positive note as it launched the all-new City and the facelifted CR-V. However, with the tight competition in the local market, as well as with the impending safeguard duties on imported cars, the newly launch models could still not be enough.
As such, it seems that HCPI is all set to ace up its sleeve this year. To do just that, the brand is looking to launch the all-new Honda City Hatchback in the Philippine market.
The news about the possibility of launching the City Hatchback in the local market was first reported by Autoindustriya. According to the report, HCPI president Masahiko Nakamura said that the brand is planning to launch the all-new Honda City Hatchback in the Philippines.
The Honda City Hatchback
The all-new Honda City Hatchback made its global debut in November 2020 in Thailand. It shares similar design cues with the City Sedan except for the rear design.
The Thai-spec City Hatchback is equipped with a 1.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that generates 120 hp and 173 Nm of torque. The engine is paired to a continuously variable transmission.
But, don’t get your hopes high just yet since there’s a good chance that the Philippine-spec City Hatchback won’t be getting the 1.0-liter turbo gasoline engine.
The reason for this is that HCPI did not opted to offer the said engine when it launched the all-new City Sedan last October 2020.
What’s more likely to expect is that the Philippine-spec City Hatchback will come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder i-VTEC gasoline engine that puts out 119 hp and 145 Nm of torque, which is the same power unit found in the City Sedan.
Honda City Hatchback
On the other hand, the local launch of the City Hatchback could also mean that it will be the replacement model for the Jazz. As such, the Jazz’s time in the Philippines could more likely come to an end if HCPI did bring in the City Hatchback this year.
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