India will be primary exporter of Honda's 1.6-litre diesel engine

The company will build the diesel engine at its facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan, from July 2017 and for now, it’s earmarked for exports to Honda's Thailand plant and could feature in the Honda Civic that’s sold in the Philippines.

The engine will be available in two states of tune – a 120hp, 300Nm unit and a more powerful 158hp unit that makes 350Nm of torque. Honda's Tapukara powertrain plant currently manufactures the most diesel engines for Honda in the world. The factory can build engines from scratch, right from forging crankshafts, connecting rods, and all the way up to final assembly. All major components for this engine will either be manufactured on the premises or sourced locally, which will eventually lead to major cost benefits.

The only diesel engine manufactured, before this move, at the facility was the 1.5-litre iDTEC engine that sits in the City, Amaze, WR-V, Jazz, BR-V and Mobilio.