Slough, February 26, 2003 - Honda Motor Europe Ltd. announced today that Honda's first diesel engine to be fully developed and built in-house is to make its world debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show. The new 2.2 litre i-CTDi power unit joins Honda's intelligently-controlled i-series family of engines that already includes the i-VTEC and i-DSI range of petrol engines. It will be used to power, among others, the new Honda Accord - to be revealed in diesel form at September's Frankfurt Motor Show - and, at a later date, the Honda CR-V.

Expectations will be high given Honda's engine pedigree, and the company's firm intention was to establish a new benchmark in diesel performance. While development continues, output figures are still provisional but the new i-CTDi engine is expected to produce a power output of over 140 PS and a maximum torque figure of around 340 Nm.

Honda has consistently brought creative thinking and innovative solutions to whichever new area of technology it has chosen to pursue, with its current work in the field of fuel cells being a prime example. While a late entrant into the diesel field, the company nevertheless already gained valuable expertise during the development of the diesel engine powering the current Civic range. And it can, of course, call on vast resources and a depth of knowledge gathered over many years of petrol engine research.

The all-aluminium i-CTDi employs second-generation common-rail technology to provide further advances in fuel efficiency and refinement. It also features a turbocharger and four valves per cylinder. It will fully comply with Euro 4 emissions standards. In short, it will deliver smooth, refined, high performance motoring, matched with frugality and particularly low emissions, perfectly complementing the character of the new Accord range.

Sales of the diesel Accord commence in early 2004.