Next-gen Honda City to take cues from Radical 0 Series Sedan; expected in 2028

New Delhi: The sixth-generation Honda City, which is due in 2028, is set for the biggest design shift so far. According to car publication Autocar India, the City could be borrowing styling from Honda’s 0 Series sedan concept, shown at the recent Japan Mobility Show.  The production variant of the electric 0 Series sedan will be placed at the top of Honda’s global EV portfolio.

What it does preview is a shift in designing language, which is going to influence the Honda sedans overall, and even the City is going to come in this.

For Honda India, this next generation of the City is coming at a time when the car needs to reclaim some of its former glory. The City was at one time a benchmark, but more recently cars like Skoda Slavia, Volkswagen Virtus and Hyundai Verna have been making a strong case for themselves. 

Media sources who have seen the early design mock-ups, the upcoming generation of City takes cues from the 0 Series sedan. It is likely to carry a quite sleek, sporty front fascia and quite an athletic stance. The front quarter glass is making a comeback, taking inspiration from the Lamborghini Countach. Of course, the pop-up headlamps are not going to make it to production due to safety regulations

Structurally speaking, the upcoming City makes a shift to Honda’s PF2 modular architecture, engineered for small and midsize cars and SUVs and most importantly for hybridisation, a big weight drop that should boost the efficiency and improve the driving experience that Honda is looking to bring in the future models. In excess of 60 per cent of the components will be shared across the vehicles brought from the PF2, helping to streamline production, while also keeping prices competitive.

It is also being alleged that the multi-energy platform makes for faster battery charging, stronger energy regeneration and adoption of smaller, more cost-efficient battery packs, which is important for making Hybrids accessible.

At present, the City e: HEV has been applauded for its efficiency, but the pricing has been a drawback, and the upcoming generation is expected to fix this. With localisation parts optimisation, Honda can offer the City hybrid at a more accessible price, which is a crucial step before the strict CAFE 3 rules come into action in 2027.

Honda are also expected to offer the City in both petrol and hybrid versions. Even though the specific’s are not given about the powertrain, the current generation, which gets a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine producing 121 hp, paired with either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a CVT and 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine hybrid system which uses two electric motors and an e-CVT to deliver a combined output of 126 hp, serves as a map to where things are headed.

The new City remains critical in the face of CAFE standards becoming more uptight, the hybrid demand seeing a rise and fuel prices only steepening.

Introduced in 1998, the City isn’t just Honda’s longest-running car in India but also the nameplate in the country’s mass-market segment that has been running in the country constantly. The first three generations saw major transformations each time, in terms of design, fuel efficiency and even the performance. In contrast, the fourth and fifth generations came with a more conservative approach, prioritising spaciousness, efficiency and long-term reliability. 

The 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine remains a benchmark in the naturally aspirated engine. However, with the turbocharged TSI blocks from Skoda and Volkswagen and the Hyundai Verna’s cabin being loaded with tech, the competition is intense.

Honda, of course, knows that the City needs to be reinvented, and the upcoming generation is being made with that in mind. The sales figures highlight the stress, with SIAM data showing Honda sold only 578 units of the City in October 2025, compared to 1,004 units in the same month last year, which is a 42 per cent decline.