February 17, 2009 - The new Honda City was pronounced Indian Car of the Year 2009 (ICOTY 2009) by top automobile journalists of India at a ceremony held in Mumbai.

ICOTY award has been instituted to review all new cars in the Indian market and is judged by an 11 member specialist jury consisting of senior automobile journalists from leading automobile magazines in India.

The new Honda City was among the 7 cars which qualified in this year’s awards that included new launches by other manufacturers competing for the title.

The new and completely re-designed 3rd generation Honda City was launched in India in September 2008. The model has been very well received which is evident from its consistent sales growth of 17.6% during the period November 2008 - January 2009 (after start of deliveries). Honda City provides values exceeding customer expectations and sets a new benchmark in the highly competitive C-segment.

Expressing delight on receiving the award Siddharth Shriram, Chairman, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. said, “Indian Car of the Year is the highest honor for a car in India voted by India’s top automobile journalists of the country and it is indeed a privilege for us to receive this award for Honda City. The all-new Honda City is Honda’s most significant model in this market and this award is a true testimony of the appreciation from our customers and experts. We would like to express gratitude to everyone including our suppliers who have made it possible to make the new Honda City a success.”

The new Honda City had already been declared the Car of the Year by some of the leading automobile magazines in their individual capacity winning 6 awards including 2 ‘Car of the Year’ awards. The new Honda City was adjudged the ‘Car of the Year’ by Business Standard Motoring and Zig Wheels. The car also won ‘Viewers’ Choice’ awards by UTVi – Autocar Awards and CNBC TV18 Overdrive Awards.