Honda has seen a sharp decline in its market share, owing to the drastic shift of demand of consumers towards diesel cars. The Japanese automaker has no diesel versions available in India, due to which consumers have no option but to opt for diesel powered cars from competitors. However, the company is now planning to launch a diesel version of the Brio and this could be as soon as this year. Earlier Honda had hinted on a 2013 entry of its diesel attack but due to petrol prices being constantly on the upward trend, the company has pre-poned plans of the diesel Brio. Most cars today, which offer both diesel and petrol engines see the former outselling the latter by a ratio of 4:1.
Honda seems to have already commenced testing of the diesel engine on the Brio. The 1.2-liter, i-DTEC motor uses common rail technology and should produce power in the range of 70-80 BHP and torque between 160-180 Nm. Fuel efficiency will be the USP of this engine, which is expected to give close to 24 kmpl on the Brio, making it one of the most fuel efficient cars available in the country. Expect a price of Rs. 80,000/- over the petrol version. The City and Jazz too will be getting diesel engines, which will not only be larger in capacity but will produce higher output and will be introduced in 2013. Honda has nicknamed its diesel engine as Earth Dream Technology and will first offer its new generation diesel engines in the Civic in Europe.