In 2019, Maruti Suzuki decided to completely axe the diesel powertrain option from its passenger car product portfolio, post the BS6 era, which meant that the brand would only upgrade the petrol-powered cars into BS6 conformity. Now, reports suggest that Maruti Suzuki could be planning to bring the diesel engine back on its product portfolio in India as it still has a significant chunk of market share.
Reports suggest that Maruti Suzuki has already commenced re-tooling its Manesar production facility to build BS6 diesel engines. The powertrain production plant is expected to be ready in the second half of 2021 and new Maruti Suzuki BS6 diesel vehicles are likely to be introduced by the next festive season. It is also speculated that the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Vitara Brezza could be the first vehicles from the portfolio to get the new BS6 diesel engines.
When the diesel-powered Vitara Brezza is introduced, Toyota is also likely to benefit from the vehicle as the brand will be able to add a new option on the Toyota Urban Cruiser, which is essentially a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Vitara. In November 2020, Maruti Suzuki India Limited recorded total sales of 153,223 units domestic sales of 138,956 units and 5,263 units for other OEMs. In the same month, the brand also exported 9,004 units.
The main reason for discontinuing the diesel line-up was the cost to upgrade it to the more stringent emission norms and the decreasing price gap between petrol and diesel fuel. But, in the SUV and MPV department, the demand for diesel is still high. In the BS4 era, nearly a quarter of sales for the brand came from diesel-powered cars. This move of bringing back the diesel engine is expected to regain customers for the brand.
In the recent, past a test mule of a diesel-powered Maruti Suzuki Ertiga was also spotted testing close to the brand’s Manesar factory. The spied model carried the Tour M badge which is exclusively sold to fleet owners and commercial taxi aggregators. The test mule could be running tests for city and highway driving. A closer look at the spied pictures also revealed that the test mule had a 6-speed manual transmission and some leftover adhesive from the DDiS badging on the quarter panel.