By T Murrali 

Taking much attention to the details to make the car more Indian, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL), has come out with its fifth generation Honda City in India. It was first introduced in India in January 1998. Now in its new avatar, the car that was launched recently, has retained its original authentic shape of the sedan while reinventing itself according to the needs and aspirations of its customers across India. Available in three grades V, VX and ZX, the price of the ASEAN NCAP 5-star rated car ranges from INR 10.9lakh to INR 14.65lakh.

Developed at Honda R&D Centre located in Tochigi, Japan following extensive market surveys in India, ASEAN countries and other markets for people’s driving needs and lifestyles, the new car has been introduced in both petrol and diesel, powered by ‘earth dreams technology’ range of BS-VI compliant powertrains.

The 1.5L i-VTEC DOHC petrol engine with VTC delivers 89 kW (121PS) @6600 rpm 145 Nm@1750 rpm torque, with quicker torque increase at lower engine speed. Mated with 6-speed manual transmission and the new 7-speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) the vehicle offers fuel efficiency of 17.8 kmpl and 18.4 kmpl respectively.

Mated with 6-speed manual transmission the 1.5L i-DTEC diesel variant delivers 73 kW [100 PS] @ 3600 rpm power, 200 Nm @1750 rpm torque and fuel economy of 24.1 kmpl. Application of advanced exhaust gas after-treatment system with NSC (NOx Storage Catalyst) and DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) has been done to meet the challenging target of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission in case of diesel engines.

At the launch programme the Chief Engineer, Large Project Leader, Honda Motor Corporation, Satoru Azumi, said, failure was not an option as there was pressure of 1.3billion Indians in his mind. Honda equals City in India but the new Indian customers needed something more. “We decided that the new City should be able to stand out in traffic. Therefore, the design has to have presence. What we have created is an interior space that make the user feel more space than what is actually there. Innovation at Honda is about doing and creating things that are yet to be.”

The inspiration for the new City is ‘Standing on the edge,’ which is designed to stand out in the crowd. The character line with advanced lighting and sharp edge, presence of tyres, low centre of gravity and sleek cabin motion.

Child’s View

The process that the Honda team followed to design the car began with asking six year old children to draw their vision of a car; to their surprise all of them drew sedans. So the team started with recreating the child’s understanding of a car. For the exterior the team was guided by the concept of ‘Standing on the edge.’ The entire body is shaped with the sharp edge character line right from the front to the rear. The sharp horizontal character line on the sides of the car is inspired by Katana blade (a Japanese sword) designed on the concept of cutting edge light. The profile creates its signature presence during day and night as well.

The technique of using a lower and longer trunk for large size category sedan was applied to make the car look even longer, eventually making the City a fusion sedan. This was the ambition of the team. “I am really competing with six year old kids,” Azumi said.

Conceptualised to carry forward its legacy, deliver supremacy and exceed the previous benchmark by offering a superior value proposition to its customers, the new City has been expanded making it the longest and widest sedan in its segment. The car is 4549 mm in length (109mm more than earlier generation) and 1748 mm in width (53 mm more). The height of the new model stands at 1489 mm and wheelbase of 2600 mm.

For the interiors the design team followed Sokai (evacuation in Japanese parlance) concept that makes the surroundings easy to see while driving. It creates a cabin more open while being secure. The focus was to minimise visual noise so that there is no distraction for the driver. The front-hood invisible length has been reduced by 42 percent, improving visibility further.

For The Saree Clad Women

The graceful way of sitting by a saree clad woman is usually cross-legged. As the folds of the saree around the feet should not get crumbled, the design team created more legroom in the rear. In addition, it adopted a scooped out frame for the front seats to create additional space. This helped in increasing the foot space width by 26mm and 31mm in the forward direction. By adopting a new frame for the front seat, the rear seat legroom and knee clearance were expanded. Besides, it optimised the torso angle. Considering the hot and humid weather conditions in India the seats have been given breathable fabric.

Connected Services

To make it contemporary it takes a huge leap in Connected Car Services with Next Generation of Honda Connect available as a standard offering across all grades along with a 5-year free subscription. It is India’s first connected car with Alexa remote capability and is equipped with next-generation Honda connect with Telematics Control Unit (TCU) standard across all grades. It has over 32 features to provide a sense of safety, security, convenience and peace of mind for customers. By giving voice commands to Alexa, the cloud-based voice service from Amazon, customers can use 10 key features of Honda Connect to monitor and control their car from home. Hence, they can remotely access features such as car AC on/ off, door lock/ unlock, check fuel status, locate the car, and status from the car dashboard, for unparalleled comfort and convenience.

The new City comes with full LED headlamps with 9-LED array inline shell, integrated LED DRL, L-shaped LED turn signal and distinct Z- shape 3D wrap-around LED tail lamps with uniform edge light. It also has a one-touch electric sunroof, R-16 diamond-cut alloy wheels and shark fin antenna. In addition to the stylish exterior, its interiors are based on ‘Man Maximum Machine Minimum’ philosophy as it has enhanced knee room and legroom, rear-seat shoulder room, an ergonomically designed cockpit, multiple storage spaces and 506 litres of truck capacity.  

Safety 

To enhance safety the new car has been designed with Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body for self-protection while mitigating damage to other vehicles in the event of a collision. It offers a host of active and passive advanced safety features like six airbags system, ABS with EBD and brake assist, vehicle stability assist with agile handling assist, hill start assist, Honda lane watch camera, multi-angle rear camera, emergency stop signal, tyre pressure monitoring system, ISOFIX compatible rear side seats with lower anchorages & top tether, and immobilizer with anti-theft alarm.  

For the convenience of the users the car is equipped with an advanced smart key system with the walk-away auto-lock feature, remote engine start (in CVT) and keyless window remote operation, fully automatic climate control with max cool, click feel AC dials with red-blue elimination, rear AC vents with charging ports, driver seat height adjuster, LED map and rear reading lamps.

The ergonomically designed and thoughtfully laid instrument panel sports the 20.3 cm advanced touchscreen display audio which connects with Apple Car Play and Android Auto opening new ways of staying social and digital on the drive. The other features include 17.7cm HD full-color TFT meter with multi-function driver information interface with G-meter, digital speed and cruise control display, weblink smart connectivity, eight-speakers premium surround sound system, ambient lighting and LED interior lamps, steering-mounted paddle shifters for CVT.

Gaku Nakanishi, President & CEO, Honda Cars India, said, “Honda City has been our key pillar of business for more than 22 years, being one of the longest-running nameplates in the Indian automotive history. With cumulative sales of more than four million units worldwide, it has provided joy to almost eight lakh customers in India and many more aspiring to own the model. Each generation of the City has raised the bar on design, technology, quality, driving pleasure, comfort & safety, and has come with several industry firsts or segment-first features.” 

Rajesh Goel, Sr Vice President & Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India, said, “City customers have always been very discerning and want a car that is a class above the rest. Hence multiple ‘industry-first’ and ‘best in segment features’ for Styling, Connectivity, Safety and Convenience have been offered as standard from the entry V variant of the All-New City, setting a new benchmark for the segment.”

The new City is available five colour options - radiant red metallic, platinum white pearl, modern steel metallic, lunar silver metallic and golden brown metallic. It comes with three years of unlimited kilometres warranty as a standard benefit to the customer. Additionally, customers can opt for an extended warranty for an additional two years unlimited/limited kilometres for extra peace of mind. The car offers a low cost of maintenance with a service interval of one year/ 10,000km whichever is earlier.  

The fifth-generation car also offers a wide array of accessory choices to customers with wireless charger (with smartphone holder), front parking sensor with switch, legroom lamp, trunk spoiler with LED, front & rear bumper protector, Side airbag compatible seat cover, Door visor with chrome among many others. (MT)

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Vietnamese automotive company VinFast has announced the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with 29 aftersales partners during its Global Business Conference held between 4 May and 10 May 2026.

The event gathered over 200 investors and partners from North America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kazakhstan to discuss the company’s international service expansion.

The MoUs outline plans for international partners to establish electric vehicle (EV) service workshops that adhere to VinFast’s global standards. To maintain service quality, VinFast intends to provide standardised technician training, certification programmes and operating procedures. The company is also developing a parts supply network with a target of delivering common spare parts within 24 hours in major markets.

The automaker is building on its domestic aftersales foundation in Vietnam, where it operated nearly 400 workshops by the end of 2025. This contributed to a total global network of nearly 800 facilities at that time.

For 2026, the company aims to expand its global reach to more than 1,100 service workshops. This network will be implemented through several models, including – dealerships for retail customers, services for fleet and transportation business clients and partnerships with third-party local service workshops.

The expansion strategy includes specific support policies such as repair time commitments in Vietnam and the provision of replacement vehicles in international markets. VinFast also provides ongoing technical support, battery inspections and software updates for its customers.

Bui Viet Hung, Deputy CEO of Global Aftersales at VinFast, said, “Our goal is not simply to expand the network, but to build a customer-centric aftersales ecosystem that delivers an outstanding experience on a global scale. Through partnerships with experienced local operators and the application of VinFast’s global standards, we aim to provide aftersales services that are exceptional, responsive, and reliable”.

In addition to maintenance services, VinFast is collaborating with partners like V-Green to develop a global charging system. The company aims to establish more than 1.5 million charging ports worldwide to provide a comprehensive ownership experience for international EV users.

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Mumbai-headquartered automotive major Tata Motors is upbeat on FY2027. The company reported revenue of INR 3,355 billion, down 9 percent YoY in FY2026, as compared to INR 3,660 billion a year ago. The profit before tax saw a decline of 13 percent at INR 2,333 billion, as against INR 3,142 billion last year.

The impact was primarily on the back of several headwinds at Jaguar Land Rover, including cyber incidents, tariffs, China's luxury tax, VME pressures and adverse commodities. The Consolidated Net Debt stood at INR 307 billion, on account of adverse free cash flows primarily owing to production stoppages at JLR.

However, Tata Motors management is quite optimistic about transitioning into the new fiscal year. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, outlined a ‘stay the course’ philosophy backed by aggressive technological pivots. Despite macroeconomic volatility, the company is doubling down on its multi-powertrain strategy to insulate itself from global commodity shocks.

While FY2026 was a year of ‘outperformance’ (15 percent growth), Chandra has set a realistic yet ambitious floor for the mid-term.

"We are confident growth can be over 10 percent for FY2027. There is no question about changing the long-term plan. Unless there is a significant geopolitical impact on petrol and diesel prices that may have a 1-2 percent plus or minus effect on new car sales, we remain on track," Chandra stated.

Perhaps the most significant outlook provided was the expected reversal of the traditional cost structure. Chandra views the rising cost of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) as an inevitability that will eventually make EVs the more profitable segment.

Interestingly, for Tata Motors’ alternative energy fuel mix (electric and CNG) now already accounts for 43 percent of passenger vehicle sales.

"ICE is going to be inflationary in the future," Chandra predicted. "Cost on the EV side has been disinflationary. If not equal, it will be better than ICE. We are not that concerned on profitability being impacted badly; there can be some pressure in the short-term, but it maybe for completely different reasons," he responded on the demand in the upcoming few months.

The automaker is also ramping up production to meet demand and expects to build on the strong momentum of H2 FY2026, and continue to deliver profitable and industry-beating growth in FY2027, supported by a robust demand pipeline, planned pipeline of new products and established multi-powertrain strategy.

By December 2026 or early CY2027, Tata Motors plans to enter the Flex-Fuel arena with at least one product to align with evolving government mandates.

"As far as Tata Motors is concerned, we are comfortable in terms of technology readiness," Chandra noted. "By end-December 2026 or early next year, we expect our first Flex-Fuel vehicle to be introduced. We are currently in discussion with the government through SIAM for E25 readiness."

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Maruti Suzuki India Limited has crossed a new threshold in its environmental logistics strategy, having now sent more than three million vehicles across the country by rail. The carmaker views this cumulative figure as proof of its deepening commitment to reducing emissions through supply chain innovation.

The share of trains in the company’s outbound vehicle movement has grown from just five percent in the 2014-15 fiscal year to 26.5 percent in 2025-26. The journey from two million to three million rail dispatches took only 21 months, setting a company record for the fastest addition of one million units moved by train.

Two of Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing hubs, at Hansalpur and Manesar, are equipped with in-plant railway sidings, a distinction held by no other passenger vehicle maker in India. These facilities were built under the national PM GatiShakti master plan. The Hansalpur siding became operational in March 2023 and received a virtual inauguration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi a year later. In February 2026, it earned global recognition as the first modal shift transport project registered under Verra’s carbon standards. The Manesar siding, the largest of its kind in the country, saw its first train flagged off in June 2025 by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

With a combined annual capacity of 750,000 vehicles, the two sidings feed a hub and spoke network covering more than 600 cities from 22 hubs. Popular models like the Swift, Brezza, Baleno, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, produced in Gurugram, Manesar and Gujarat, are moved through this system. Rail connectivity also extends to the ports of Mundra and Pipavav, supporting the company’s export shipments.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki, said, “Achieving three million cumulative vehicle dispatches through railways marks a significant milestone in Maruti Suzuki’s green logistics journey. Since 2014, our rail-based vehicle dispatches have increased ninefold in volume, now contributing 26.5 percent of the Company’s total vehicle dispatches. Maruti Suzuki has committed over INR 13,720 million towards dedicated green logistics infrastructure. This includes development of in-plant railway sidings at our Hansalpur and Manesar manufacturing facilities, rail yards setup at key logistics hubs, procurement of specialised automotive rakes and supporting multiple infrastructure upgrades.

 “We thank the Government of India for the visionary PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, which has created a strong enabling framework for integrated, multimodal logistics and has supported the industry’s transition towards efficient, rail-led and sustainable freight movement. Going forward, we aim to increase the share of rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35 percent by FY2030-31 and plan to establish an in-plant siding at our new Kharkhoda facility. This would further help reduce carbon footprint, lower fuel consumption and ease overall road congestion.”

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The 110th birthday of Ferruccio Lamborghini Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, the famous Italian automobile designer and industrialist who created Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and Automobili Lamborghini in 1963 was on 28 April 2026. The force behind the conceptualisation, design and development of some of the most iconic supercar models ever to come out of Italy, such as the Miura and Countach, Lamborghini was driven by an unceasing desire to improve and innovate. 
Born in Renazzo, a hamlet in the municipality of Cento (province of Ferrara), on 28 April 1916, Lamborghini – the eldest son of farmers Antonio and Evelina Lamborghini – was attracted to mechanics than to the land that his father harvested. At the very young age, he spent his afternoons in the farmstead workshop. 
Managing to get hired by the best mechanical workshop in Bologna, where he discovered the secrets of mechanics, Lamborghini was drafted and assigned to the 50th Mixed Maneuver Motor Fleet stationed in Rhodes at the outbreak of World War II.
He successfully repaired (and broke) vehicles belonging to the Italians, German and British. Founding his first company in Rhodes, a small mechanical repair shop, Lamborghini returned to Italy in 1946 and, taking advantage of incentives put in place to support the economic recovery, opened a machine shop in Cento to repair motor vehicles and build small utility vehicles. 
Observing the crisis suffered by local agriculture, he built inexpensive agricultural tractors within reach of small landowners, using the components of old military vehicles. The first was made from a Morris truck where he applied a fuel vaporiser of his own invention. He sold some eleven such machines, establishing himself as an entrepreneur.
Counted among the most important industrialists in Italy by 1963, Lamborghini decided to build the best grand touring cars in the world. An incident often told is that he complained to Enzo Ferrari about a broken clutch in his personal Ferrari. Ferrari reportedly told him: “Stick to making tractors and leave the sports cars to me.”
Determined to build a better car than his Ferrari 250GT, Lamborghini hired top talent, including former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, to design a new V12 engine, and Gian Paolo Dallara as technical director. The first prototype – the 350 GTV – was built in Sant’Agata Bolognese and shown at the 1963 Turin Motor Show. 
The refined production version – the 350 GT – debuted at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show. The Muira, launched in 1966, redefined the supercar segment like no other, establishing firmly Lamborghini and his car venture into the domain that Ferrari ruled. 
The emblem found on the bonnet of the Muira was a result of an exercise where Lamborghini contacted a well-known local graphic designer, Paolo Rambaldi, who asked him what personal characteristics he felt he possessed. “I’m tamugno (which translated from dialect means hard, strong, stubborn) like a bull,” was the reply. An emblem was born thus with a raging bull in it, popularly referred to as the world-famous logo of Automobili Lamborghini.
Retaining his spirit after he left this world on 20 February 1993, Automobili Lamborghini continues to make among the best and most desirable supercars today. They are made with his conviction that the best can still be improved and new avenues can be explored.
 

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