The subcompact sedan market has been rather quiet these last couple of years. The newest model available on the market at the moment is the Honda City. We’re still waiting for the all-new Toyota Vios, but that model’s been around for years in other countries.
It’s not that the market is in trouble. Sure, sedans don’t sell as much anymore, but sedans are still doing well enough. When it comes to all-new models, however, it might be a relatively long wait.
Reports from India claim that we can expect one by 2028. The model? The next-generation Honda City, says Autocar India.
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Okay, 2028 is still quite far away, but that could mean the current City will have an extended production run. The fifth-generation model was introduced in 2019 and landed in the Philippines in 2020. By the alleged launch year of the sixth-generation model, the outgoing one will be about nine years old.
Autocar India went as far as claiming that production will start by May 2028. Also, the model will reportedly shift to what is called the PF2 platform. The publication claims the PF2 platform is a new modular chassis that is set to underpin several subcompact Hondas.
The report from India says we could expect a radical redesign of the new generation Honda City. That’s a bold claim given that the City has been evolutionary for the past three generations. Either way, it could be a welcome change for the subcompact sedan.
But it’s not just the City that will use the PF2 platform. The report suggested a new seven-seater that will also use this chassis. This leads us to believe it could be the future Honda BR-V. Per Autocar India, the seven-seater will come out by 2027. PF2 is also said to allow for a greater degree of electrification that should help Honda toward its carbon-neutral goals in the coming years.
