2026 Honda City Facelift Spied Ahead Of India Launch
Honda Cars India is expected to give the City a facelift sometime this year. It will be the second facelift to the fifth generation City sold here, aimed at keeping the model fresh till the next generation arrives in 2028. The updated sedan has now been spied testing in Brazil ahead of India launch. The new set of spy pictures show the rear end of the vehicle.
These images show a facelifted City with heavy camouflage. Captured by Kaio Giovanelli, these show the rear end of the car. The bumper seems to have sharper and sportier lines. Additionally, the car is said to get a new set of headlights and grille. These are expected to be in a way that the overall design would move closer to that of global models like the new Civic. Going by the spy shots, the rear seems to have LED tail lamps and a tailgate that resemble those of the outgoing model.
According to reports, a full upholstery upgrade will be the only change inside. We, however, expect to see the addition of features like a 360-degree camera. Being a facelift, this update is unlikely to change the overall dimensions of the car. Cabin room and comfort will also remain more or less similar to those of the current model.
The City’s second facelift comes in just at the right time. In the Indian market, it competes with the Volkswagen Virtus, Skoda Slavia and Hyundai Verna. The sedan segment, in general, has shrunk significantly in recent years. Even so, the Virtus continues to sell well. The Slavia sees good demand too. The Verna manages to post decent monthly numbers, despite having a polarising design. The City’s market share has, however, slipped significantly in recent years.
To breathe fresh life into the segment, Volkswagen, Skoda, Honda and Hyundai are preparing facelifts to these sedans. Hyundai has already launched the facelifted City in India at Rs 10.98 lakh, ex-showroom. It brought notable styling changes and in-cabin improvements to the product, making it more competitive.
Similar updates are expected on the Virtus and Slavia as well. Both are expected to be out in the third quarter of this year. These developments, in a way, necessitated the City’s update. So, by the end of this year, all affordable mid-size sedans will be available in updated avatars.
More importantly, the hybrid City (City e:HEV) will also get a facelift sometime soon. Honda is known to be developing a new cost-effective hybrid system for use on its mid-size products. This will be used in the upcoming generations of the City and Elevate. It is unclear if the facelift would get this tech or not. There are reasons to believe it will and otherwise.
The outgoing City e:HEV has an ex-showroom price of around Rs 20 lakh. If the new hybrid system is introduced, the prices will come down drastically. Some cities like Delhi have already announced tax waivers for strong hybrids priced under Rs 15 lakh. If the new powertrain helps Honda to bring the prices under the 15 lakh mark, it will be able to take advantage of this scheme. This can be rewarding as the NCR market loves Honda.
This appears to be just a distant possibility. Most likely, the carmaker will introduce the new powertrain on the next-generation City, expected in 2028. Changes this time are likely to be cosmetic.
The next generation of the City will come with major design deviations and a thoroughly improved, tech-heavy cabin. More importantly, it is expected to move to the carmaker’s new PF2 platform. This platform will be heavily localised. It will also be more cost effective and the powertrain will also be less complex and more cost effective than that of the current model.
It will use a lighter battery pack, more energy dense motor and will have an improved transmission. The upcoming generation City will be more affordable than the current City e:HEV.