Honda has confirmed there will be no diesel version of the Civic for the remainder of the current generation of the car.

The Civic, which had been available with Honda’s 140bhp 2.2 i-CTDi engine, only complies with Euro IV emissions rules so is unable to be sold as a new car from January 2011, and has been on run-out.

Honda’s other diesel products, the Accord and CR-V, both use a more modern 150bhp i-DTEC engine with is designed for the latest emissions rules.

However, there is no plan to use this engine in the current Civic, which will now run without a diesel version at least until the model is replaced in 2012.

Honda’s alternative for fleet operators that want a low-CO2 lower medium model are the Civic Hybrid saloon and Insight, both using petrol-electric hybrid power.