Japanese auto major Honda today said that it is working full steam on developing a higher specification diesel engine for the American market and a lower displacement engine for emerging markets like India. The company that enjoys a leadership position in the mid and sub-premium segments in the country does not have any diesel portfolio yet. Honda today displayed its latest i-DTEC diesel engine at the 40th Tokyo Motor show but the company said it is premature to decide when the engine will make its way into India. “We are a latecomer in the diesel segment but we do have a 2.2 litre diesel engine and i-DTEC is based on that. For the US market this engine is too small and we need to develop a V6 engine. However, for emerging markets like India we will need a smaller diesel engine,” said Honda Motor Company Ltd president and CEO Takeo Fukui. “We are working on both these engines.”Simultaneously Honda is working on its range of hybrid vehicles and has announced a new hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle based on the FCX concept at next month’s Los Angeles Auto Show. Deliveries of the vehicle in the US and Japan will begin next year. Honda displayed its concept model CR-Z, touted as the next generation hybrid sports car at the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show.“Next generation diesel engines are inherently more efficient than gasoline engines as they contribute in reduction of CO2 emissions. The i-DTEC engine has emissions that are as clean as the gasoline engine but it will take some time before we can think of introducing it in India,” Fukui said, adding that the sensitivity of these engines to fuel adulteration means de-sulphurisation is required in India. “Down the road, nothing is ruled out but strategically there will be gasoline engines followed by hybrids and then a compact i-DTEC engine.”Honda has already announced plans of launching hybrids in the Indian market and the company is in talks with the Indian authorities over establishment of rules to allow sale of gasoline-electric vehicles in the country. There are currently no regulations for governing hybrid cars. “Hybrids make a lot of sense for India because it is so sensitive to running cost. But the existing duty structure makes such vehicles very expensive and hence impractical,” said Honda Siel Cars India president and CEO Masahiro Takedagawa. “Hybrids cost around 20 per cent more than their gasoline counterparts and if they are to be imported, then at 114 per cent import duty they would be way beyond anybody’s reach.”Hybrids give almost 50 per cent better fuel efficiency than conventional gasoline engines and Honda sells the Civic hybrid with a gasoline-electric engine in North America, Japan and Europe.
