Honda committed to pursuing regulations for hybrid-fuel vehicles in India

Tokyo: India presently has no regulations governing petrol-electric hybrids, which are known to give better mileage than conventional petrol-engine vehicles.

As a prelude to the introduction of Hybrid vehicles in India, (See: Honda in talks to market hybrid cars in India) Honda Motor Co has said that would pursue discussions with Indian authorities to help establish regulations that will eventually lead to the country offering a conducive environment for the launch of hybrid fuel models.

Honda markets the Civic petrol-electric hybrids in Japan, North America and Europe, which is known to give up to 80 per cent r mileage than the Civic''s petrol-only model.

According to reports, Honda has commenced talks with the ministry of heavy industries, and will start considering how to sell the hybrids once the requisite legislation is in place.

Hybrids, according to company sources, hold immense promise in the Indian market, through they would be hard to sell without state subsidies since they are substantially more expensive to produce than petrol or diesel powered cars. Presently, Honda sells the City, Accord and Civic sedans and the CR-V crossover SUV in India, all of whom run on the petrol platform.

Given the petroleum prices in India, drivers in the country are amongst the most cost and fuel consumption conscious in the world. Testimony to the trend is the increasing preference for fuel efficient, small diesel powered cars in the country, due to their superior efficiency, and lower fuel prices mainly on account of subsidised diesel prices in India.