Honda Brio diesel coming soon

Not so long ago, Honda Siel Cars India had reported that they would be bringing in the diesel variants of its entire line-up in India by 2013. However, Honda seems to be getting impatient and for the right reasons to get back in its competitive avatar and tap the car market, which is currently being taken over by diesel cars.

Honda Motor reportedly, is planning to introduce the diesel variant of its popular hatchback, Honda Brio in the country by the third quarter of this year - which means Diwali. The Japanese automaker is testing its newly developed diesel technology, common rail i-DTEC on the Brio and is planning to introduce it in the 1.2-litre version. The diesel variants of the Honda City sedan and Jazz hatchback will be introduced at a later stage.

"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 centers across several locations." a company spokesperson said.

Honda which entered India in 1995, saw its car sales dive by 27 per cent in the first nine months in the current fiscal, partly because of the unavailability of any diesel variants in the era of rising petrol cost and partly because of the disruption caused in the production facility due to nature's fury in the form of Tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand. With the introductions of the diesel variants in the company’s line-up for India, it could only be a matter of time before the Japanese regain their market lead, which is current being enjoyed by Volkswagen and Toyota whose diesel cars account for a large chunk of their sales.