Honda Accord Hybrid India bound- to come this year

Honda that recently phased out its flagship sedan Accord, is planning to introduce the new generation Accord in 2014. Moreover, the Japanese carmaker will also launch the Hybrid version of the sedan, which is currently on sale in international markets. If media reports to be believed than the new generation Accord will only be made available with hybrid drivetrain. However, we believed that the company might also drive in the diesel and petrol trim.

To keep costs down, the company will locally assemble the Accord Hybrid. Civic Hybrid was the first hybrid from the Japanese automaker in India, however it failed to garn numbers for the company and eventually got dropped from the lineup. The model came in India via the CBU route and this is the reason behind the unsuccessful short journey of the Civic Hybrid.

Although, Accord Hybrid will be far more costlier than the Civic hybrid; it will be suited as per the taste of Urban population. The amount of comfort and convenience features added to its high fuel efficiency will surely attracts the buyers. We expect it to cost around 6-7 lakh more than the regular version, which makes it about Rs. 30-32 lakh. If it comes with such an aggressive price tag, the model could garn good sales number for the company.

Under the hood, the Honda Accord Hybrid gets the 2-litre petrol engine that produces 141PS of top power and 165Nm of torque. This engine is paired to an electric motor, which turns the overall power output to 196bhp and 306Nm of peak torque. With this drivetrain, the Accord can run either on petrol or electric, or buyer can switch to hybrid mode as well. Like other hybrids, it will also get the e-CVT transmission unit.

Like Accord Hybrid, we have already seen Toyota Camry hybrid recently introduced in the market, which is currently locally assembled at the company's facility. This has helped Toyota to price it well in the market. The new generation of Honda Accord is also speculated to be made available in both petrol and diesel guise. It is a well known fact that the lack of oil burner is the major reason behind the downfall of Accord, where its competitors are being offered in popular diesel engines. The phased out Accord was powered by a 4-cylinder 2.4-litre engine producing 180PS and 220Nm, while a more powerful 3.5-litre V6 engine was also on offer, that develops 275PS and 339Nm.

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