Honda will continue to commit itself to the diesel engine programme for India beyond 2020 when BS VI emission norms come into effect. The car maker is in the process to upgrade its existing 1.5 litre i-DTEC Earth dreams engine to comply with the new norms. On the other hand Volkswagen will not be upgrading 1.5 litre EA189 engine while BS VI will see the death of India’s national engine, the 1.3 litre Fiat Multijet engine.

Speaking to Autocar India magazine, Yoichiro Ueno, President and CEO, Honda Cars India said, ” “In Tier II and Tier III towns, the demand is fully concentrated towards diesels. To meet customer demand, we have to offer diesel.” He also said that the upgrades to the diesel engine will be costly and could push up the prices of Honda’s diesel cars.  “BS IV is a challenge. Especially for diesels, the particulate matter (PM) regulation is very strict. We need very defined PM filters and that effects the cost of the diesel upgrade,” said Ueno.  He also added that the gap between petrol and diesel powered cars could widen in 2020.

Ueno said that Honda India was looking to control costs by considering the possibility of locally producing parts of the diesel particulate filter that the engine requires. He said that the car maker is currently testing BS VI versions of the diesel engine and tests were going smoothly. “We have the technology. The challenge is not performance of equipment but of cost.” he said.

The 1.5 litre i-DTEC motor currently powers the Amaze, B-RV, City, W-RV and Jazz in India. The 2018 C-RV that will be launched in India will feature a 1.6 litre motor from the ‘Earth Dreams’ stable. This engine is BS VI compliant and will be locally assembled in India. The same engine could also power the new Civic that is set for a relaunch on Indian shores in 2019.

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