Maruti Suzuki May Reintroduce Its 1.5-Litre Diesel Engine In 2022: Report

Maruti Suzuki India will reportedly reintroduce diesel engine to its portfolio in 2022. According to a recent report on The Hindu Business Line, the Indo-Japanese automaker plans to launch a BS6 compliant 1.5-litre diesel engine, which is likely to be introduced first with the Maruti Suzuki XL6. Following this, the company is expected to introduce it for the Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, and the Ciaz. The company is said to have been working on the new diesel engine for over a year now at its powertrain factory in Manesar, Haryana.

The diesel Vitara Brezza may be introduced in February 2022, at the Auto Expo

The report says that first the XL6 is expected to get the engine, post which the company plans to add it to the Vitara Brezza's line-up. In fact, the diesel Vitara Brezza is likely to be launched in February 2022, at the Auto Expo. Subsequently, the Ertiga MPV and the Ciaz sedan are also likely to get it. When we reached out to Maruti Suzuki India to confirm this report, a company spokesperson said, "We do not give any forward-looking guidance on products".

Earlier, Maruti Suzuki offered the BS4 version of the 1.5-litre diesel engine with the Ertiga and Ciaz

Now, this is not a new engine. Back in 2018, the company introduced a 1.5-litre DDiS 225 diesel engine for the Ciaz and Ertiga, which was developed in-house by Suzuki. But later, the company phased out diesel engines in April 2020 stating that the investment involved to convert a BS4 engine to BS6 is much higher than for petrol and not a viable option for the company, especially for smaller cars. However back then the company's Chairman, R C Bhargava has said that depending on the market situation the company might consider converting the larger 1.5-lite unit in the future. However, we do not expect smaller cars like the Baleno, Dzire or anything below them to get a diesel option.

Unlike Maruti Suzuki India, rivals Hyundai, Mahindra, Tata Motors, and new entrant Kia continued to sell diesel vehicles in India and have reported unwavering demand. In fact, recently Hyundai said that the split between bookings petrol and diesel models of the new Alcazar is almost similar. So, it's possible, this continued demand for diesel vehicles may have prompted Maruti Suzuki to reintroduce the engine in India.

Source: Business Line