Sources have stated that Honda Cars India has started testing BSVI compliant diesel which it had received from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in November 2016. The company had received 5 barrels from IOC's Mathura oil refinery, while the company did not share more information on this it did claim that it is the first company to begin testing of BS VI fuel in India.
Yoichiro Ueno, President & CEO, Honda Cars India commented that "Honda is committed to meet the challenge of achieving BS VI emission norms in the country by 2020. Honda R&D received the first batch of BS VI High Speed Diesel from Indian Oil in November 2016 and is the first automobile company in India to begin the BS VI real drive testing in the country. We are pursuing development testing for Bharat Stage VI emission norms compliance."
Indian automobile industry is ready to undergo a big shift by adopting BS VI regulations by 2020 and looks like the work has already begun to take on this big shift by leap fogging BS V norms. Earlier in November 2016, Indian Oil Corporation had dispatched BSVI compliant diesel to Honda Cars India and Mahindra & Mahindra from its Mathura oil refinery to test the viability and compatibility of the fuel to meet BS VI requirement.
While the automakers were always ready and willing to undergo this change, availability of fuel on-time much before the deadline for the OEMs to undergo testing and adopt to manufacture BS VI engine was always going to be difficult.
