Maruti to continue with diesel engines from Fiat
Maruti Suzuki at the turn of the BS6 era decided to discontinue their diesel engine line-up and only continue with the petrol powertrains. The brand back then decided to give up on their oil burners due to the high costs in upgrading them from BS4 to the more stringent BS6 emission compliance. Now, the brand could be planning to bring a diesel engine back to their vehicles.
It is now being rumoured that Maruti Suzuki has already developed a 1.5-litre diesel powertrain in the BS6 avatar. In the recent past, it was being reported that Maruti Suzuki is developing a new diesel engine that will be equipped to the brand’s future vehicles. It was also being rumoured that the company is re-tooling the Manesar production facility to build diesel-powered engines.
The new BS6 1.5-litre diesel engine is expected to power the Ertiga and Ciaz in the Indian market after which the brand will be introducing the same engine on the Vitara Brezza successor, codenamed YXA and also on the D22 which is likely to be the Crossover developed by Maruti Suzuki and Toyota.
It is also expected that Toyota could use the diesel engine to power the Urban Cruiser which is a rebadged version of the Vitara Brezza if the engine is compatible with the compact SUV. Though the main reason for discontinuing the diesel powertrain was the high price to upgrade the engine from BS4 to BS6 as well as the shrinking price gap in Petrol and Diesel fuels as well as the incline of customers towards more efficient petrol and turbo-petrol engines with mild-hybrid electrifications.
But the Indian car market still has a reasonable chunk of diesel aficionados and it looks like Maruti Suzuki is losing out on a reasonable mass of customers. If Maruti Suzuki brings back the diesel engine, the brand is expected to regain a lot of its diesel-loyal customers.