Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has said that it may re-launch the Civic Hybrid as it believes that the union government would slash the import duty on hybrid and other environment-friendly vehicles. Honda had stopped selling the Hybrid Civic, which was brought through the CBU format. The company had stopped importing chiefly due to the prohibitive import duty at 104%, which makes it commercially unviable for the consumers. Excise duty and VAT further increased the on-road price of the car.
Due to its exorbitant pricing, Honda was compelled to slash Civic Hybrid’s from Rs. 21 lakh to Rs. 13 lakh within two months of the launch to clear the inventory. The company sold only 60 cars at the original price tag of Rs. 21.5 lakh while the remaining 240 vehicles were sold at the discounted price of Rs. 13.36 lakh.