Maruti Suzuki’s engineering head explains why they won’t launch diesel cars

Maruti Suzuki officially exited the diesel engine segment with the introduction of BS6 emission norms. While there were speculations of Maruti Suzuki offering diesel engine options again in the Indian market, CV Raman, chief technical officer Maruti Suzuki India, said that the brand will not re-enter the diesel segment in India.

The largest car manufacturer in India cleared the air before the next phase of emissions norms that will come into effect from 2023. Maruti Suzuki, which earlier said that it will bring back the diesel engine options if the need arises and demand for diesel cars increases in the future. However, citing the 2023 emission norms, Maruti Suzuki said that the new norms will increase the price of diesel engines will rise, causing the price of cars to increase.

Maruti Suzuki believes that the market will see a gradual shift towards petrol cars in the future. Most manufacturers are offering diesel engine options in the market. However, Maruti Suzuki had seized diesel engines a long time ago.

Also read: All-new Maruti Suzuki Celerio”s launch timeline revealed

“In 2023 the new phase of emission norms will come which is likely to drive up the cost. So we believe that diesel percentages may further come down. We do not know about the competition but as MSI we do not have any intention to participate in the diesel space,”

Focus on petrol-CNG vehicles

With the rising fuel prices in India, Maruti Suzuki will bring a slew of alternate fuel-powered cars like CNG. Earlier, Maruti Suzuki said that it will double the sales of the CNG cars by the end of this fiscal. Maruti Suzuki will also make the existing petrol powertrains better to increase fuel efficiency.

One such example of improved fuel efficiency is the new K10C dual-jet engine that made its debut with the Celerio. The engine derived from the turbocharged engine of now-discontinued Baleno has become India’s most fuel-efficient petrol car with a tested fuel efficiency of more than 26 km/l.

“We have said that we will improve our existing powertrains which are already happening. The new K10-C engine in Celerio is one improvement. Similarly, the 1.2-litre engine has undergone some change. So from a fuel efficiency perspective, we will improve our internal combustion engine technology,”

Maruti Suzuki will also work on the electrification of new cars and add features like a start-stop to increase fuel efficiency. All the variants of the new Celerio get the idle-start-stop feature as standard. Besides that, the manufacturer will utilise the mild-hybrid technology with the higher-end, more expensive models.

“We already have the mild-hybrid technology at the higher end. Besides, we are propagating more CNG because of the low running cost. Seven out of 15 models already have the CNG trims. In future, more brands will come with the technology,”

A few weeks back, Maruti Suzuki also commented on electric cars and said that it will bring EVs only when the demand for the vehicles rise in the Indian market.

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