Making a statement of its commitment to protect the environment, Japanese car major Honda on Wednesday launched the first hybrid car in India, Civic Hybrid, priced at Rs 21.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The car is powered by a 1.3 litre petrol engine and an electric motor that deliver 47 per cent enhanced fuel efficiency than a regular 1.8 litre Civic automatic transmission.

Developed way back in 1999, the Civic Hybrid has sold over 2,60,000 units across the world and India is the 33^rd country where Honda has launched the car.

"This is yet another step to strengthen Honda's presence in India in line with our long term goal of bringing eco friendly vehicles," Honda Siel Car India president and CEO Masahiro Takedawa said in New Delhi.

He said the company was not looking at volumes from the car but "is an opportunity to offer to customers technology we have. It is a Honda statement to protect the environment".

"So far we have received over 100 inquiries from the 80 dealerships we have across India," Takedagawa said, however, adding bringing the car to India was a challenging task.

"We have to set an entirely new standard for testing and homologating this car in collaboration with Automotive Research Association of India as, there were no regulations earlier," he said.

Asking for support from the government in promoting the eco-friendly car, Takedagawa said: "This car comes at a much higher price as the import duty is over 100 per cent."

"In other countries government subsidise such eco-friendly cars. We are hopeful that the (Indian) government will also look at lowering the import duty," Takedagawa said.

He also ruled out the possibility of manufacturing the car in India saying technical constraints prevent Honda from making the car outside Japan.

The company also introduced a new range of its sedan Civic--1.8 Executive, which is priced between Rs 10.8 lakh and Rs 12.66 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) targeted at corporate customers.

HSCI had sold around 62,800 units in the last fiscal and this year the company is looking to better it following the capacity expansion at its Greater Noida facility to 100,000 units a year.

Image: Masahiro Takedagawa, president and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India Ltd poses with India's first hydrid car, the Honda's 'Civic Hybrid' during its launch in New Delhi on June 18, 2008. The Honda Civic Hybrid system features a 3-stage i-VTEC + IMA that employs Honda's i-VTEC engine to provide three stages of valve timing (low speed, high speed and cylinder idle mode) combined with a compact electric motor.

Photograph: Praksh Singh/AFP/Getty Images

Text: PTI