HONDA is set to enter the mainstream UK diesel car market late this year after signing a cross-supply engine arrangement with General Motors. Isuzu Motors, which is 49% owned by General Motors, will supply diesel engines to Honda for sale principally in Europe, but details of which powerplants are involved have yet to be announced.

In return, Honda will supply General Motors with V6 ultra low emission vehicle petrol engines and automatic transmissions. A spokesman for General Motors' UK subsidiary Vauxhall said: 'Our global requirements for V6s have increased, but for competitive reasons we cannot specify about applications now or whether they will appear in Vauxhall or Saab.'

Although Honda sells a V6 Accord Coupe in the UK, most of the ULEV engines are for the American market. Last year Honda indicated it was set to reintroduce diesels to its Accord line-up. Honda corporate sales chief Nicholas Phillips said he expected the first benefits of the agreement to come with diesel-engined Accords becoming available late this year/early 2001, to be followed by diesel-engined Civics when the new range starts to become available in April 2001.