Maruti Suzuki To Steer Clear Of Diesel Vehicles For Now

Maruti Suzuki has confirmed that it will not be venturing into the diesel segment since it feels sales of these cars will greatly reduce, with the advent of new emission regulations in the year 2023. Maruti Suzuki is of the belief that new emission regulations will increase costs of diesel models, affecting their sales figures in the Indian market, which is already witnessing a steady shift towards petrol-powered vehicles.

C V Raman, the Chief Technical Officer at Maruti Suzuki, stated that the company will not be venturing into diesel cars. He added that the company has examined consumer demand and it will not be in this space in the future. He stated that upcoming emission regulations in 2023 may increase diesel vehicle costs greatly, and their market percentage may drop further. Diesel vehicles currently have 17% market share in terms of overall sales of PVs (passenger vehicles). This already represents a huge drop from 60% market share in 2013-14.

Several carmakers have already ditched plans to launch diesel trims, especially after BS-VI emission norms were unveiled on 1^st April, 2020. Maruti Suzuki has already discontinued its entire line-up of diesel models. The present line-up only has BS-VI 1.2 litre, 1 litre and 1.5 litre petrol engines with CNG trims available for seven models. Raman added that Maruti Suzuki will focus on enhancing its powertrains for ensuring higher fuel efficiency. The newly launched Celerio offers 26.68 kmpl in fuel economy, claimed to be the highest for a petrol vehicle in the country as per Maruti Suzuki.

The company will also be ramping up electrification components such as start-stop technology. It already has mild hybrid technologies for higher-end models while CNG is being promoted due to its lower running costs. The company will also launch more EV and hybrid models in the future as per Raman. The company is already E10 (ethanol 10%) compliant and based on availability, E20 will be present from 2023 onwards. Maruti Suzuki is currently studying the possibilities of using this fuel and its feasibility.