Honda to export diesel engine components from India

Honda has decided to ramp up its operations in India by creating a production base in the country for diesel engine components. As the company plans to double its exports of engine parts and components to the European and Asian markets, its Indian manufacturing facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan seemed the obvious candidate to take on the new production.
As Honda’s first fully integrated facility for diesel engine manufacturing in the world, the Tapukara plant is expected have production capacity of 160,000 units a year.
At present, only the manufacturing facilities in Japan and India provide Honda diesel engine components for its global operations. Honda exports diesel engine parts to markets in the U.K. where there is a larger market. With the increased production capacity in Tapukara, Honda hopes to create a higher demand for its diesel engines in the U.K. and European markets.
With rising petrol prices, most carmakers launched diesel variants of their models to attract more Indian customers. Even as the main competitors launched diesel variants for their models, Honda restricted itself to selling petrol options for its popular sedans – City, Civic and Accord. With the Honda Amaze entry level sedan, Honda launched diesel engines in India for the first time. The diesel engines and the associated components for the Honda Amaze will be supplied by the plant at Tapukara.
The capacity of the diesel engine for the Honda Amaze to be launched in India is 1.5 liters while diesel engines used by Honda for its cars in the European markets are slighter larger at 1.6 liters. However, since most components used in both engines are similar, it is easier to export diesel engine parts from the manufacturing plant in India. It is estimated that, out of the total capacity of 160,000 units, nearly 30 to 40% will be exported to markets outside the Indian subcontinent.
(May 30, 2013)