Petrol Stop - Honda Motor plans diesel variant of Brio to increase market share

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Honda Motor plans diesel variant of Brio to increase market share

Monday, 30 January 2012

31 Jan 2012;economictimes.indiatimes.com:Chanchal Pal Chauhan:NEW DELHI: Honda Motor could introduce the diesel variant of its high-selling compact car 'Brio' in India this year, bringing forward plans to tap a car market skewed away from costly petrol. The carmaker is testing its newly developed diesel technology, common rail i-DTEC, on the Brio and could introduce it in a 1.2-litre version. The diesel variants of its City sedan and Jazz hatchback, carrying larger engines, will be introduced later. The company had earlier planned to introduce diesel vehicles in 2013. "Honda is committed to bringing its diesel technology to key markets like India. And to ensure that Honda diesel is best suited to local conditions and offers optimum performance levels, Honda is conducting stringent tests at its R&D centres across several locations," a company spokesperson said in an email response. Honda, which operates in India through its JV Honda Siel Cars India, is keen on regaining market share from rivals Volkswagen and Toyota whose diesel cars account for a large chunk of their sales. The Japanese automaker, which entered India in 1995, has seen sales fall 27% in the first nine months of the current fiscal, largely because it was unable to introduce any diesel variants, which have become popular in India because of the rising cost of petrol. The carmaker's output in India was also affected by shortage of components after last year's tsunami in Japan and flash floods in Thailand, which led to a 36% loss in production, or 27,939 units, in the April-December period. The i-DTEC engine, nicknamed "Earth Dreams Technology" will first be used in the new Civic sedan in Europe this year. According to some people working closely with the company, "its application for other models and markets is likely to come in the shape of Brio compact car for India in the initial phase". Diesel cars, which registered a 26% rise in sales in the first nine months of the current fiscal, accounted for about 60% of the passenger vehicles sold in the country. During the same period, sale of petrol cars dipped 18%. According to industry executives, diesel cars account for over 80% of sales in models like Maruti Swift and Hyundai Verna, where both fuel options are available.