Wake up Honda which planet are you living on?

Leaving Honda India every other manufacturer in India is betting big on diesel in India and bringing in the latest generation diesel engines.
Ford india says 70%of its sales comes from diesels,analysts estimate 45% of market share to be captured by diesel


There’s a reason why Indian consumers are suddenly rooting for diesel. Diesel engines in passenger cars are about 40% more fuel efficient and the fuel is 30% cheaper than petrol. It is also much cleaner thanks to better technology that’s reducing emission drastically, and making it the preferred choice of customers. Gasoline heads say, the real breakthrough developments in auto engineering have all been in diesel technology in recent years.Petrol’s combustion technology has only been tweaked for better efficiency

Maruti Udyog Limited, after avoiding diesel for over two decades, mostly because its last experience with Peugeot diesel engines strapped onto Zen and Esteem models was not a particularly happy one, has not only ventured into the segment, but also started its own diesel powertrain manufacturing facility. It has rolled out its popular model Swift in diesel and plans to roll out more models in future.

With the market share of diesel cars growing at about 6% to 9% every year, it is expected to form 45% of the total market by 2010. In all the dual-powertrain cars launched recently, diesel variants have stolen a march over their petrol counterparts. That roster includes the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Verna and Mahindra Renault Logan.

Hyundai Motor India ‘s major success with its last launch Verna has been backed by its diesel variant, while Ford India has also shared similar success with its mid-size Fiesta

Currently the diesel market is dominated by Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M). But other companies plan to end their domination and a slew of recent launches -- like Chevy Aveo from General Motor's, Getz and probably the new small car from Hyundai and the under-development small car from Toyota and Volkswagen -- will also have diesel variants.


However Honda india is not following the same path,it seems incompetent to alter its engines for Indian fuel quality and does not feel the need for a diesel engine in India for the moment.Wake up Honda which planet are you living on?

With the diesel segments witnessing high growth at the expense of petrol, Honda which does not have diesel in its portfolio yet is hesitant on entering the segment. “The emission norms will get more strict in 2010 with the introduction of Euro IV emission norms and while we do have the technology we are not sure about the quality of diesel available in the country today. Hence we are waiting for the fuel quality to improve and once it happens we will be ready with our products,” Takedagawa said. First to come off the block would be the Honda CR-V diesel.

He, however believed that the situation is still not the same as Europe and Honda is not missing out on an opportunity. “An Indian consumer drives an average 18,000 kilometers per year while a European drives in excess of 40,000 kilometers. The huge gap is due to the difference in infrastructure and diesel is more attractive for those who travel more. The demand here will be much more once infrastructure improves,” he said.


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