One of India’s largest automobile manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India announced that it will discontinue the selling of diesel cars in the country from April 2020. Company officials stated that this move of the company is aligned with the evolution of the automobile industry on account of stringent BS VI emission norms.
The company chairman, R C Bhargava confirmed the halting on diesel car sales from April 1, 2020. Adding to this, the chairman said that the company would further evaluate the market for diesel cars post the new emission norms come into effect depending on their customers’ reaction, and develop diesel cars accordingly.
The diesel cars variants offered by the company include Dzire, Swift, Vitara Baleno, Brezza, Ciaz, Ertiga, and S-cross. Maruti Suzuki has also reflected certainty towards stopping the diesel versions of its light weight commercial vehicle Super Carry, effective next year. Ahead of this, Super Carry would be only available in CNG or petrol version.
The company recently introduced a mid-size sedan Ciaz equipped with a BS IV compliant 1,500 cc diesel engine developed by Maruti. Commenting on this, the chairman said that the company would not go below 1500 cc diesel engine, going forward.
The upcoming BS VI compliant engines are likely to have a maximum impact in terms of pricing on small diesel cars. The diesel vehicle sales have been declining ever since the BS VI compliant engines have been introduced in Europe as the price difference between diesel and petrol has increased. According to Bhargava, the Indian market would be no different, where consumers are more price conscious.
Bhargava further commented that as the company prepares to transition the petrol engines to BS VI that the company’s 16 variants would be upgraded before March 31, 2020. The company has already brought in Alto 800 with BS VI compliant engine.
Apart from this, the company officials also enunciated on the ongoing development of hybrid vehicle variants, although not slated for this year.