Honda Prepares New Small Diesel for Europe and India

The Japanese manufacturer seems to have finally come to its senses and hinted through the voice of its R&D Chief Operating Officer, Tomohiko Kawanabe, that it readies small displacement diesel engines for the European and Indian car markets.

"If you want to compete in markets like India, and also Europe, (a small diesel engine) is necessary," said Tomohiko Kawanabe on Friday.

Europe is a place where the Japanese manufacturer has lost greatly in recent years due to its lack of availability of a solid and varied choice of diesel units. This relative loss can be easily recognized when one looks at the high demand of diesel-powered vehicles that took off during the last years in Europe and the big piece of market share pie Honda has missed.

For the past seven years Honda offered only one choice of self-built diesel engines in the form of the 2.2-liter i-CTDi. The engine enjoyed much praise at the time for its low CO2 and NOx exhaust emissions, low operating noise levels, power and a fuel consumption of just 5.4 l/100km (44 mpg) on a car as heavy as the European Accord model.

In 2008 Honda introduced its second generation unit called i-DTEC. The aim was again to further reduce noxious exhaust emissions while boosting power and fuel efficiency. The engine was among the first units to pass the EURO 5 emissions standard and succeeded in doing this through a combination of optimized combustion chamber design and reduced injection times.

But the cars equipped with this engine were significantly more expensive than their petrol-powered counterparts and offered only on selected models. Now, the perspective of a small displacement diesel unit on a Honda Jazz is sure to bring back the Japanese marque on top of the list of choices for several European customers.