Maruti Suzuki is almost done readying its BS6-compliant 1.5-litre diesel engine and soon, the firm is expected to launch diesel variants of many of its products.
Having missed the deadline to get its own diesel engine BS6-compliant, the top automaker, like many others, had its plans tossed by COVID-19 and thus development has been slow.
However, it came to light by the end of 2020 that the BS6 Maruti diesel engine will indeed find its way into many of the brand’s products by the middle of, or during the festive season of, 2021 (read article here).
Development mules of the Ertiga MPV powered by the BS6 1.5-litre diesel motor were also spotted out on public roads, giving us a clear indication as to which model will receive the DDiS motor first.
Now, it has been reported that motor will be plonked into the engine bay of the Ciaz, as well as the upcoming next-generation Vitara Brezza, the compact crossover that Maruti is developing in collaboration with Toyota and quite possibly the S-Cross as well.
Although the price difference between petrol and diesel fuels is pretty low these days, diesel variants of premium cars, especially SUVs do fetch lots of sales, something Maruti cannot overlook.
Diesel models contributed to around 23 percent of the top automaker’s total sales in the BS4 era. To put things into perspective, Maruti sold about 5 lakh diesel cars in FY18-19 alone.
Source – Team-BHP.com