The Honda Civic hybrid launch in Delhi. (Ramakant Kushwaha)

New Delhi, June 18: The first hybrid car has hit Indian roads — and it’s a Honda Civic which will run on both petrol and battery power.

Priced at a steep Rs 21.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the car is powered by a 1.3-litre petrol engine and an electric motor.

India is the 33rd country where Honda has launched its Civic hybrid. With crude oil projected to surge to $200 a barrel by sometime next year from the current $137 and with no commercially viable alternative fuel anywhere in sight, auto aficionados are increasingly drawn by the allure of hybrids.

The Honda Civic hybrid’s biggest selling point is its fuel efficiency of 19-23km a litre — on a par with, if not better than, a Maruti Zen or a Hyundai Santro.

The company said the hybrid car was 47 per cent more fuel-efficient than the petrol version. This is because the car draws on petrol or battery power, depending on the speed of the car. The battery charges on its own when the car runs on petrol.

“When the car is idling or running at low speeds, it draws power from the battery-operated electric motor. At high speeds, it automatically switches to the petrol engine,” said Jnaneswar Sen, the vice- president (marketing), Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI).

The biggest turn-off for the customer is the price — which is more expensive than executive saloons like the Honda Accord or the Toyota Camry.

Honda blames it on the high customs duty of 104 per cent that has to be paid on imports of completely built units (CBUs).

“Countries like Japan and US offer us an incentive to produce such cars. India, on the other hand, imposes a heavy customs duty. This is odd because fuel prices are at an all-time high and the government wants carmakers to produce green cars,” said Masahiro Takedagawa, the president and CEO, HSCI.

“This (the launch) is another step to strengthen Honda’s presence in India in line with our long term goal of bringing eco-friendly vehicles,” Takedagawa added.

The Civic hybrid was launched in the US and Japan in 2006 and worldwide sales have topped 2.20 lakh units.

While Honda Siel refused to give sales estimates for the hybrid in India, Takedagawa said: “We have already got about a 100 enquiries. We are not looking to sell more than a 1,000 units.”

“The objective behind this launch is to show our (Honda’s) commitment to India in bringing its advanced technology, which is fuel-efficient and environment-friendly. We are not looking at any volumes in India for this product,” he added.

In the race to produce hybrid cars, Toyota beat Honda by almost two years: the Toyota Prius debuted in 1997. The vastly improved second-generation Prius in 2003 became an instant hit, helping Japan’s top automaker win a reputation overnight as the frontrunner in green technology.

But Honda is hoping to change all that. It aims to sell about 500,000 hybrids a year by 2015 -- nine times what it sold last year -- rivalling Toyota’s own goal of boosting hybrid sales to a 10th of its total sales after 2010.

Local hybrids

The Tatas and the Mahindras also have plans to come out with their own green vehicles but have not set firm dates for launches.

Tata Motors is planning to introduce a petrol-electric hybrid version of Indica. Mahindra & Mahindra unveiled a diesel-electric hybrid version of the Scorpio at the Auto Expo in New Delhi back in January.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki is also set to launch an LPG (liquid petroleum gas) version of its popular model M800. It already has an LPG variant of the Wagon R.