From being no where on the top most fuel efficient cars list to now dominating it, Maruti Suzuki has done well to re-establish itself as the mileage king in the country.
‘Kitna deti hai’ is probably the most asked question by prospective car buyers in India and taking that very seriously, Maruti Suzuki has successfully churned out cars with very high fuel efficiency numbers. If the Celerio diesel (27.62 km/l) was the best expectation in mileage numbers, Maruti has more surprise in store with the Ciaz Hybrid, set to become India’s most frugal car. The diesel powered Ciaz hybrid will return a fuel efficiency of 28 km/l, thereby ensuring three Maruti cars stay in the top 5 fuel economy list.
Maruti will replace the current Ciaz diesel with the Ciaz diesel hybrid which gets Suzuki Hybrid Vehicle System (SHVS), resulting in mileage jumping from 26.30 km/l to 28 km/l. The mild hybrid system is paired to the 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel motor, producing 90 PS and 200 Nm. India’s largest automaker is betting big on new technology solutions to boost volumes, AMT was among the first and the mild-hybrid tech is next, expected to increase the cost of the vehicle by Rs. 25-40,000/-. The increase is nominal considering the technology is imported and is much costlier but due to lower excise duty (under the FAME hybrid vehicle policy), the company is able to price the vehicle competitively (around Rs. 13,000/- subsidy).
Just like the A-Star’s tagline, Maruti will stop at nothing and plans to hit the mileage number of 30 km/l with the diesel hybrid versions of the Swift and DZire. The Ertiga facelift also gets the diesel hybrid and will be much more frugal, set for an October launch. The company is also working on petrol hybrids with the 1.2-litre motor getting the same tech, being limited to export markets initially with the upcoming premium Baleno hatchback. Maruti expects 50% sales of the Ciaz and Ertiga to come from the diesel hybrid model and the benefits are just not fuel economy but also lower emissions.
Source – EconomicTimes.com
