Japanese car major Honda on Wednesday launched its first hybrid car in India, Civic Hybrid, priced at Rs 21.5 lakh. Masahiro Takedagawa, president and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India told reporters, the high price tag was partially due to the 104 per cent customs duty on the vehicle. The company is importing Civic Hybrid from Japan as a completely built unit. Takedagawa said they have approached the government through SIAM to clip the import duty. "In other countries government subsidises such eco-friendly cars. We are hopeful that the government will also look at lowering the import duty,' he said. Takedagawa ruled out the possibility of manufacturing the car in India saying it was difficult to import the technology of the car from Japan. The car is powered by a 1.3-litre petrol engine and an electric motor that delivers 47 per cent enhanced fuel efficiency than a regular 1.8-litre Civic automatic transmission. The Civic Hybrid was developed way back in 1999 and has sold over 2,60,000 units across the world and India is the thirty third country where the company has launched it. It will be available in two colours