Honda to equip its Civics with Polish-made engines

Japanese car manufacturer Honda Motor intends to equip its cars with engines to be produced in the Isuzu Motors Polska car components plant beginning in November 2001. The 1.7-liter diesel engines will be used in the assembly of Honda Civic cars manufactured in Swindon, UK. Due to the fact that diesel vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, Honda plans to strengthen its position on the continent, becoming independent of the American market. In the financial year ending March 2001, it reported operating losses of $456.7 million, while the number of cars sold dropped by 23.3% to 191,000. Beginning in April 2002, Isuzu, a subsidiary of General Motors, will increase its supply of car engines to Honda plants to 15,000 per year. Consequently, Honda wants to double the number of cars produced in the UK to 250,000 and to export them to Japan and the U.S. (Prawo i Gospodarka, May 19-20, p.4) M. S.-C.