Unlike its rivals, Hyundai India has decided to upgrade and continue with its smaller 1.2-litre diesel engine.
With BS6 emission norms coming into effect from 1st April 2020, upgrading the diesel engines has been the biggest casualties for the carmakers in India. The cost of developing and upgrading the diesel engines to make them BS6 compliant will lead to steep hike in diesel car prices, making the diesel cars notably expensive than their petrol equivalents.
Many manufacturers are discontinuing their entry-level diesel engines as they won’t be able make it to BS6. Although Hyundai India has confirmed that they will be upgrading their 1.2-litre 3-cylinder diesel engine to BS6 standards, which currently powers the Grand i10 and Xcent.
Reason behind the company’s decision to move forward with the small 1.2-litre diesel engine is that they were able to work around the cost issues of upgrading their engines. Their parent company has already invested in upgrading the diesel engines to meet the Euro-6 standards for the European market. The escalation in prices of diesel Grand i10 and Xcent is expected around Rs. 30,000-40,000/- after BS6 upgradation.
Hyundai has a huge opportunity here by moving to BS6 standards. As many of the competitors have decided to pull their diesel engines out of the market, Hyundai now gets a good opportunity to fill the huge gap of around 3,00,000 cars per year. Diesel car sales are rapidly declining, there is still a huge crowd in the market who would opt for diesel cars.
Hyundai 1.2-Litre Diesel
– Hyundai has decided to upgrade their 1.2-litre diesel engine to fit BS6 norms
– Many manufacturers will be discontinuing their small diesel engines
– Hyundai’s diesel powered cars will see a price hike after BS6 upgrade
Source – AutocarIndia.com