New 2012 Honda Civic sedan NOT coming to India?

Wow, I thought the Civic was sold in every market that Honda was in....

The new 2012 Honda Civic that was launched in markets globally many months ago is apparently a no-show for the Indian car market. According to AutocarIndia Editor Hormazd Sorabjee, the Japanese automaker is not planning to launch the new Civic to replace the older model, that has been around in India for quite a while now. Honda’s reluctance to launch the new 2012 Civic sedan in India stems from the lack of a diesel engine in its portfolio. Also, the car has been a dud in many markets across the world, with critics vociferously panning the car for being a damp squib in terms of the update.

he excuse of not having a diesel engine though sounds quite lame, given the fact that Honda just unveiled the 1.6 Liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine that was showcased a while ago, amidst much fanfare, given that it was first in the new range of diesel motors from Honda. This 1.6 Liter diesel engine, to be built in the United Kingdom, delivers 120 Bhp of peak power and 300 Nm of peak torque, along with class leading fuel economy and low tail pipe emissions. This very engine will be used on the 2012 Civic. However. Honda seems reluctant to launch the 2012 Civic diesel in India, for reasons best known to it.

So, that means that we’ll still have to wait many more months, for the 2013 Honda Civic, that the Japanese automaker has assiduously began developing, following the disappointing reaction to the 2012 Civic. However, with the current Civic becoming dated by the passing week, Honda will have a task at hand to push the car out of showroom shelves. Once a decent seller in India, the Civic, which was quite radical when it was first launched in India, has become a sluggard as it doesn’t have a diesel engine under its hood.

The 2012 Civic sedan that is sold in Europe has also been offered with a 2.2 Liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine, that pumps out 148 Bhp and 350 Nm. While this engine has been around for quite a while in cars like the Accord and CR-V in Europe, Honda has been stating that it is not suitable to run on Indian diesel, thus refraining from launching diesel versions of the aforementioned cars in India. Needless to say, the lack of diesel engines in Honda’s Indian car range has cost the car maker dearly at the hustings.

Source;

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/new-2012-honda-civic-sedan-not-coming-to-india-60173/

Honda Brio diesel caught testing yet again

This is not for the North American market....

Honda unveiled a new mass market 1.6-litre diesel i-DTEC EarthDreams engine at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and it was very clear that diesel powered Honda cars won’t take too long to reach Indian market. Also, Honda had confirmed that they will launch the Brio diesel by Diwali this year and since then lot of test lues have been spotted around their plant near Delhi, not looking very different but with distinctive diesel clatter.

This time our friends at Team-BHP caught the test mule, who report about the eminent diesel noise from the car. They also suggest that this tiny diesel is also sprightly, as the driver tried to get away when followed. So, the Brio diesel will now get even smaller engine based of the 1.6-litre EarthDream, just that exact details are yet to be know. Honda will need a engine smaller than 1.5-litre so that they will be eligible for the subsidy. Plus the engine will need to have sufficient power, as it will also power the Jazz later, just like the 1.2-litre petrol doing the duty.]

Honda is entering diesel market in India with their smallest car and is clearing looking at the number game. The rumours suggest that the City will be the next Honda model to get a diesel – which might get bigger displacement mill, probably same as the one unveiled at Geneva. The last among mass production models will be the Jazz diesel.

The Honda City is the highest selling petrol sedan in its segment; even the Brio san diesel is doing quite well in the entry-level hatchback segment. Honda is known for refinement and reliability in India and is one of the most respected brands in mass market. Addition of diesel to their range will certainly increase their numbers and is going to be a threat to all their competitors.

Source;
http://www.oncars.in/Car-News-Detail/Honda-Brio-diesel-caught-testing-yet-again/2604

Shrawan Raja of Indian Auto Blog Updates Honda's Diesel Situation

-Thanks for the tip Shrawan!

Sources have told IndianAutosBlog.com that Honda is working on a 1.2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine that produces between 70-80bhp for application on its two mini cars Brio and Jazz.

The 1.2L engine is said to be the smallest member of the ‘EarthDreams’ brand and is likely to be ready next year. Honda could have specifically developed this engine for the Indian market which is predominantly a diesel car country. Due to its low displacement, fuel economy is expected to reach close to 25kmpl in the ARAI tests.

Honda’s future programs include the successor to the Honda Jazz, shown back in late 2007, and a minimum of one additional variant on the Brio platform. The Brio platform could be used to construct a sedan featuring different body panels and design. The smaller engine, at least on paper, is perfectly matched to these compact cars. The two projects could be in the different stages of their development now and reach the market in the next two-three years.

Honda has not commented on the development of the smaller diesel engine. Honda officials have told some media channels in the recent past that a diesel engine is under development but they are yet to identify the cars on which it shall be used.

Source;
http://indianautosblog.com/2012/03/honda-1-2l-diesel-engine-brio-jazz-2013

The 2012 Honda Civic will be the first car to get the Earth Dreams 1.6 Liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine

Again, not for us in North America....

Honda has a top priority Earth Dreams project that it has had running at its Japan research and development center for a while now. The project we’re talking about involves the development of a range of new generation turbodiesel engines that the Japanese automaker will use in its future products, as it seeks to improve market share in times when diesel engines cars are become more and more preferred by car buyers across the world for their high fuel economy and low CO2 emissions.

The first engine that Honda has spawned out of its Earth Dreams turbodiesel engine project will power the upcoming 2012 Honda Civic Sedan. This turbo diesel engine displaces 1.6 liters and comes in an inline four cylinder layout. The 1.6 Liter i-DTEC engine pumps out a peak power of 120 Bhp generated at a low 4,000 rpm while the peak torque of 300 Nm generated at 2,000 rpm talks the loudest, with it being a class leading figure considering the i-DTEC engine’s displacement.

This apart, the other big story surrounding the 1.6 Liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine is the low carbon dioxide emission level, which at 95 grams/Km is outstanding. Also, the Honda i-DTEC engine is said to be the world’s lightest aluminium open deck 1.6-liter diesel engine due to the use of strong yet light weight materials in its construction. The 1.6 Liter i-DTEC engine will be manufactured at Honda’s UK plant at the end of 2012.

In due course of time, expect this very engine to arrive into India as Honda desperately needs a diesel engine in its portfolio to survive and thrive in the Indian car market, which has migrated to the more fuel efficient diesel engined cars due to the prices of the non-subsidized petrol rising even as diesel remains the overwhelmingly cheaper alternative due to the Indian government subsidizing it.

Source;

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/2012-honda-civic-1-6-liter-i-dtec-turbo-diesel-engine-geneva-motor-show-56785/

No Honda City diesel sedan launch in 2012, confirms top Honda official: ICB Exclusive!

Ahead of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show that will happen very soon, there has been fresh speculation about Honda launching a diesel variant of its flagship City sedan in the Indian market, as early as this year. We got very interested in this seemingly big development and immediately got in touch with a top Honda official to confirm this story. Yet again, the Honda diesel bubble stands pricked as the Honda official clearly told us that Honda SIEL Cars India(HSCI) has no plans whatsoever of launching the diesel variant of the Honda City sedan in 2012. Therefore, the rumors of a City Diesel being launched in 2012 remain just that, mere rumors.

We also have gathered that Honda has no plans of launching any diesel engine car in India during 2012 from the HSCI official we got in touch with, consonant with the previous report we carried a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, it seems like the Civic Diesel too will take some time to arrive onto the Indian car market. Honda is the only mass market carmaker in India to not have even a single diesel engined variant in its portfolio and this hasn’t done the brand any good at the hustings, even as the Indian car market has shown a dramatic shift in preference towards diesel cars over the past few years. Honda though, does have plans of launching diesel engined cars in the future and a brand new line of diesel engines are being developed by Honda engineers.

In fact, Honda has deputed ex-Formula1 engineers on the job and the first diesel engine to emerge from this operation is the recently unveiled 1.6 Liter i-DTEC turbo diesel unit, which generates 120 Bhp of peak power and a superb peak torque output of 300 Nm. This engine will debut on the 2012 Honda Civic sedan. Honda is also said to be developing smaller, downsized variants of the 1.6 Liter i-DTEC engine which may power cars like the Jazz and Brio hatchbacks in the future. There is also some buzz about Honda unveiling another small capacity engine at the fast approaching 2012 Geneva Motor Show, which is said to be one of the most prestigious amongst auto shows. Watch this space.

Source;

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/honda-city-diesel-sedan-launch-2012-confirms-top-honda-official-icb-exclusive-56370/

Honda goes the diesel route

This car and the diesel are not slated for North America....
by Kushan Mitra
There was an interesting news item in The Economic Times this morning which talked about Japanese carmaker Honda being in the advanced stages of developing a diesel motor. The carmaker recently forecast a massive drop in profits expected for the fiscal year ending March 2012 thanks to a rising yen and massive production issues caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the recent floods in Thailand. These caused Honda several headaches in India over the past year, production for their new small car the Brio had to halt a few weeks after the vehicle's launch because of a lack of parts coming from Thailand.

But Honda's fortunes in India in 2011 have not only been impacted of a lack of parts from Thailand. Honda's premium products had a significant price premium on their rivals for many years. But existing rivals, particularly Hyundai, have dramatically improved both drivability and looks in the new Verna. The entry of new rivals such as Volkswagen, particularly the new Vento, have hammered the best-selling City sedan.

How bad are things for Honda? During April to December 2011, Honda Siel cars India (HSCI) sales fell to 27,939 units from 43,838 units in the same period last year. Even if natural disasters elsewhere can explain a part of the 36 per cent decline, it cannot explain all of it. Look at the City, which for years on end was the best performing car in its class, it has been outsold 3:2 by the Hyundai Verna, despite the Korean car going through a generation change earlier in 2011. The Volkswagen Vento has also just about outsold the City, and maybe if Honda did not face supply-side issues, it would not have been pushed down to P3 in its segment.

And a lot of the sales of the City and the compact Jazz have come through generous price-cuts. The City which saw prices for the entry-level model cut twice this year, first by Rs 66,000 and then by another Rs 50,000 when a mid-generation facelift was recently launched. This has played havoc with the City's residual value, previously one of the best in the industry. The competition has not just eaten into Honda sales they have also made the Japanese carmaker pretty much admit that their cars were overpriced.

But sales are still not picking up and the problem lies not in prices but in the Indian car consumers' shift towards diesel powered cars. There has always been a price differential between petrol and diesel in India, but in 2011 when the price difference reached Rs 20 per litre and as diesel technology mproved considerably, consumers started to see reason in spending Rs 100,000 extra on a diesel variant of a car over the petrol model (at the same specification level). Driving just a 1000 kilometers a month, the average consumer would make his or her money back in 24-30 months depending on the car. With a large majority of the Verna and Vento's sales being to the diesel variant (Volkswagen is offering discounts on petrol-powered models).

So a diesel engine would make a massive difference for Honda. Despite the price-cuts the brand still holds immense value, and a iDTEC engine as speculated would offer excellent performance. Honda officials admitted to me that Honda is looking at a smaller diesel engine than the 1.6 litre engine which is soon going to be launched in Europe and a 1.2 litre engine will comfortably fit inside the engine bay of the Brio and the Jazz, with the larger 1.6 litre making it onto the City, Civic and C-RV.

But it appears Honda is aware of this, they realise that introducing a diesel in India will lead to huge demand, even if the government gives in to the environmental lobby in India and imposes a Rs 80,000 'surcharge' on diesel cars, which at best would add another year to the break-even point. Maruti and Hyundai already cannot cope with demand, there is a six-eight month waiting period for the Diesel Swift and a Diesel-powered Verna involves a four to five month wait. So will Honda invest in a forging and casting plant in India to make Diesel engines? That remains to be seen.

But even if the engines are imported, Honda officials told me that no diesel powered cars will be sold in India in 2012. But with 11 months of the year remaining and the fact that things change quickly in the automotive industry, take nothing for certain.

Source;

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/honda-diesel-cars/1/22058.html

2013 Honda Civic getting a Diesel?!? (Not for N.A.)

This doesn't look like it will be for us in North America, although it would be nice to have a limited edition of this car here.
David Hodgetts, Managing Director of Honda UK spilled the beans on the compact diesel engine to a British publication Fleet News. The new Civic will hit the shores of Britain in January 2012 and within a year into its life, a new compact diesel engine option will be made available.

It is likely that this small diesel will be transplanted into the next generation Jazz which will bow in late 2013. However the currently running Jazz will not benefit from this development. Honda is developing a broad range of engines for Accord, Civic and Jazz, the report adds.

For overseas markets, Honda is mulling the 150bhp i-DTEC engine right from day one, but this engine might take the Civic’ price beyond acceptable levels in India.

Source;
http://indianautosblog.com/2011/03/honda-civic-diesel?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IndianAutosBlog+%28Indian+Autos+blog%29

Honda finally wakes up – Honda City to come in a Diesel Variant by 2013-14

This will not be for the North American market, the Honda City is a vehicle that would go between the Honda FIT and the Civic and is available predomininatly in India. However, with Honda now having a 2nd diesel engine in their 'repetoire', some day (wishfull thinking) we may see a diesel Honda here!
Late Latif and prone to mistakes, Honda (well, you know. Look at the Honda Jazz) has finally had to face reality. With competition in the segment it has dominated since the last few years getting more and more stiff, Honda has decided to finally power its segment winner with a diesel mill.

Honda had already started seeing a decline in sales of the City with the launch of Volkswagen’s Vento. Analysts say that Honda’s sales figures with the City would have been much higher in the previous two booming sales years had a diesel option been made available to the buyer. Lately with the launch of Maruti Suzuki’s Diesel, Ford’s new Fiesta, Hyundai’s 2011 Verna, the upcoming Nissan Sunny and the more up-market Renault Fluence, the segment stands to be even more competitive.

And with the onset of a decline sales year and the VW Vento making the top spot and as the proverbial final straw, Honda has stated that they will make available a diesel Honda City to the public soon and by soon we mean 2013-14, by which time a lot more of the market would also have gone.

According to sources, Honda has said that they are preparing to develop a diesel engine to power the Honda City in the Indian auto industry very soon. Honda will be developing a new diesel engine in the range of 1.4L-1.6L according to what will fit the Honda City best
.
Mr. Janeshwar Sen, Marketing & Sales, Senior VP, Honda Motors India, stated, “We are developing a diesel engine in Japan to power City. It could take us more than two years. The rapid dieselisation of the market has happened only in the last one year, since 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 the Honda Brio. We believe we make the best engines and, therefore, there is no question of importing. Till then, we will continue to dominate the petrol segment.”

Source;
http://www.motoism.com/20110515440/latest/honda-finally-wakes-up-honda-city-to-come-in-a-diesel-variant-by-2013-14.html

Honda to launch diesel cars in India by 2012

For a long time cars like Honda City and Honda Civic have been favourites and churned up good figures.

But recently there has been a flood of new launches that have posed a serious threat to the almost monopolistic models by Honda.

Cars like Volkswagen Vento and Fiat Linea are some of the biggest challengers to the supremacy of Honda City, one of Honda's higgest selling models.

Also, till now there has been no diesel car launched by Honda, which is one of its disadvantages.

However, this is about to change as Honda Siel Cars India will launch two diesel engine options by 2012.

According to sources Honda would bring the diesel engine to India after its launch in Europe and it would be fitted into cars like City, Jazz and the new small car Honda is developing.

The engine is a new 2.0 litre CRDI diesel unit.

Right now Honda offers Honda Accord and the Honda CR-V in 2.2 litre diesel versions in the overseas market.

And diesel engine variants are important on the portfolio of every carmaker wanting to make it big in the Indian market as Indian buyers buy more diesel cars than petrol.

The current Honda portfolio includes cars like CR-V, City, Civic, Accord and Jazz.

Out of these three cars are likely to get the new diesel engine.

The car is available in three variants out of which Honda City 1.5 E MT and Honda City 1.5 S MT are equipped with 1.5L, 1497cc, i-VTEC petrol engine with the 5-speed manual transmission gearbox that is able to produce 118PS power at 6600rpm and 14.9Kg-m torque at 4600rpm.

The Honda City 1.5 S AT too has the same engine and specification and it has automatic transmission gearbox.

The Honda City is priced between 833,500 - 997,500 (ex-showroom, New Delhi).

Honda displayed a concept small car, which is yet unnamed, at the Auto Expo in January this year and is planning to launch it in India by 2011.

The small car is expected to have a 1200 cc engine and is expected to have all the necessary features including airbags, ABS and G-CON body standards, which keep the integrity of the passenger cabin intact in an accident.

Honda has decided to price the small car below 500,000 to be able to compete with Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i20.

The small car will have over 80 per cent local components to save on the cost of spare parts.

Source;
http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/sep/06/slide-show-1-auto-honda-to-launch-diesel-cars-in-india-by-2012.htm