In the recent months, Honda Siel India has forgone it dominance in almost every segment in the Indian car markets. A few blame it on irrational pricing such as Jazz, a few blame it on lack of options but a major chunk of people blame it on lack of diesel engine options.
Honda has finally woken up from its sleep and is now formulating strategies on how to enter the diesel market in India. According to the company, the first car to get a diesel heart will be the Honda City which is pretty much an obvious choice considering the fact that it is almost the bread and butter for the company.
Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice-president (sales & marketing), HSCI -
The rapid dieselisation of the market has happened only in the last one year, as the price difference between diesel and petrol has gone up from Rs 10 to Rs 21. We had to prioritize our efforts to be a big brand with big volumes, which will come from Brio.
However, Honda only has outdated diesel engines which cannot be plonked in the City. Hence, the company is in the process of developing a 1.4L and a 1.6L diesel engine. So is it party time for all the Dieselheads? Not quite. Honda will take two long years to develop this particular engine.
Mr Sen further added -
We are developing a diesel engine in Japan to power City. It could take us more than two years.
Two years? That’s an awful long time for the Honda City to suffer the onslaught of its diesel rivals. Don’t you think so?
Source – Autos.in.msn.com via Business-Standard.com
All the sedans Honda is having are with petrol engine only. So it will be a tough situation to come up with a engine with 1.4 or 1.6 L diesel as you need to think of the mileage also. With 2.2 L they will not be in the race for a C segment mileage competition.
Tough time for CITY.
Not very sure if Honda is taking too long to launch the diesel City, but I am pretty sure even after 2 years, it can create waves in the segment that it enters. Till then, the others can enjoy good sales.