Made-in-India turbos to power Honda UK - Exclusive

Honda's i-DTEC engine uses Honeywell turbochargers, and this includes all the three engines made by the Japanese manufacturer, viz: 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre and the 2.2-litre. The 1.5-litre diesel engine has been designed for developing markets and more significantly for India because of the duty cut.

In the European market, Honda uses the 1.6-litre and the 2.2-litre i-DTEC engines. At the moment, the 1.6-litre uses a similar turbocharger like the 1.5-litre, while the 2.2-litre engine uses a larger nine kg turbocharger. This was initially manufactured by the European plant of Honeywell, however now it seems that Honeywell might shift its production and increase its capacity in India as it has just shipped its first consignment of 51 turbochargers to Honda's UK manufacturing facility in Swindon.

This will not just help Honda UK to reduce the cost, but at the same time it seems that the Make-In-India campaign has started show results. Honeywell Turbos are based in the Pune district. Honda Cars India plans to get the new Accord too sometime this year and we reckon there should be a diesel engine too. And if it is a diesel engine, we are aware from where the turbochargers will be sourced. This same engine will also power the CR-V, which comes to India by the CKD route. The company had tested the diesel engine in India and now there seems to be a possibility of both the vehicles getting the new diesel engine too. Honeywell is also working on micro turbos, which will be used in smaller engines like the Nano diesel and the Celerio diesel also. Our sources confirm that Honda India is working on a smaller diesel engine, which will be based on the 1.5-litre i-DTEC for the next-generation Brio.