It does come as a little surprise, that one of the first Japanese brands to enter the Indian market, took so long to offer a diesel unit. With the skyrocketing fuel prices, car makers are compelled to offer huge discounts on their petrol models. And the absence of diesel lineup has cost Honda severely in the recent years. After reporting the development of an indigenous diesel engine for Indian market and other emerging markets, the company now rushes the launch with the market conditions.
The first batch of diesel engines produced in India will power the Brio and Jazz hatchbacks. Honda is also in reports of developing a Brio sedan, codenamed 2TP, which will carry a diesel unit at its debut in early 2013. This will be followed by the launch of City diesel in October 2013.
In addition, Honda will produce these engines in its facility in India, and these units will power the cars in domestic markets as well as import markets. Mr. Jnaneswar Sen, Honda Siel’s Senior Vice-President of Marketing has not given any word on the schedule or size of the diesel engines, but the first batch of engines is expected to be small capacity 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre units.
For this, Honda plans to invest a sum of Rs. 3,000 crore in the development and production of the new diesel motor at a facility in Tapakura, Rajasthan. As our favorite Japanese brand, we hope the new effort helps Honda nurse the losses in recent years.
