Honda Cars India To Export 1.6-litre Diesel Engines To Thailand

Honda Cars India has announced that it will soon commence the manufacturing of 1.6-litre diesel engines at its Tapukara Plant in Rajasthan and will also be exporting the same to Thailand as well. Presently, the Tapukara plant makes the 1.2-litre petrol, 1.5-litre petrol and the 1.5-litre diesel engine for consumption in domestic market. This particular Honda facility manufactures a total of 440 units per day (all three variants combined) and has a maximum daily capacity of 730 engines. The remainder of the capacity might be used in making these 1.6-litre diesel engines.

(New Honda 1.6 litre diesel engine)

Honda currently exports engine components to 15 countries but this will mark the first time that the company will export complete diesel engines to another country. The 1.6-litre diesel engine will be manufactured in two states of tune, which are 118 bhp and 300 Nm and a more powerful variant which will make 156 bhp and 350 Nm. The first engine will be used in the new-gen Civic and the HR-V while the latter will be used in the CR-V.

(The new 1.6-litre diesel engine might be used in the new-generation Honda CR-V)

The Tapukara Plant is Honda's biggest diesel engine manufacturing plant worldwide. All the components will either be manufactured locally or sourced locally, which means that the cost will be low. We believe that the new-gen CR-V and the Civic will soon be launched in India and when that happens, the 1.6-litre diesel engine powertrain will feature as one of the options as well. The GST rates currently make the Accord Hybrid more expensive and therefore, Honda might offer a more powerful engine to keep things balanced out. Also, diesel-powered SUVs are always more in demand than petrol powered SUVs which against makes case for Honda to introduce the 1.6-litre engine in its future models.