In a recent statement to ET Auto, Maruti Suzuki has hinted that it might bring diesel cars post-April 2020, but which one will they be?
There’s too much confusion regarding if Maruti will bring diesel cars or not. In a recent interview to ET Auto, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director to Maruti Suzuki has cleared the air about the upcoming BS-6 norms.
The report states that Maruti has not completely phased out the option of diesel cars in India post the emission norms deadline. The move is confirmed for smaller diesel engines, basically the old 1.3 Litre DDiS diesel engine.
The larger 1.5 Litre diesel engine is still in option, says the Executive Director. So, basically, Maruti Ciaz, Ertiga, S-Cross and Brezza might still get diesel engines post April 2020. Big relief.
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The manufacturer states that if the demand for diesel cars exists, they will surely bring back the diesel engines. The primary reason for discontinuation of diesel engines from the automakers is because of the higher costs.
Maruti is going to study the customer reactions regarding the higher prices of BS-6 cars and based on that, will make a decision. That works because Maruti recently developed the 1.5 Litre diesel engine and has spent near Rs 10,000 crores for the development.
Talking from the other side, the demand for diesel cars is increasing by the day now. The demand is so high that most of the entry-level vehicles even have petrol and diesel versions alongside.
As of now, the Vitara Brezza and S-Cross are only sold with diesel engines, and the former is one of the most popular SUVs in India. They are soon going to get petrol engines, probably by the end of this year.
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If explained, diesel is cheaper than petrol by nearly Rs 9 per litre and also gives a better fuel efficiency by 25%. Yes, a diesel car is cheaper in terms of everyday costs, but with BS-6 norms incoming, the acquisition costs will increase by a bigger margin, especially in smaller cars.
To better the situation, Maruti is going to bring CNG on smaller cars like Swift, Baleno and Dzire. Also, reports suggest that Maruti might also bring CNG on the Vitara Brezza. If seen, it is actually one small car and if Ertiga has CNG, why not Brezza?
