Maruti Suzuki’s plans of entering the commercial vehicle segment have been much spoken and written about over the past months. Codenamed Y9T, the new light commercial vehicle is a vital product for the company that not only marks India’s largest passenger car maker’s debut in the commercial vehicle segment, but also its first home developed diesel engine that will power the LCV and an extensive list of small cars. Now, a report states that the Y9T LCV will come with a 792cc diesel engine, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
Co-developed by Indian engineers at Maruti and Suzuki in Japan, the new engine will send power to the front wheels and will be capable of hauling a payload of around 800 kgs. The new diesel engine is believed to be a two-cylinder unit and will come with turbocharged technology that is being sourced from Turbo Energy Limited (TEL), a joint venture between Brakes India and BorgWarner Turbo Systems and will be the smallest turbocharger to be produced by the latter.
The Y9T LCV is said to be based on the Suzuki Carry LCV already on sale internationally. The LCV will also be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine from the Eeco, while a CNG compatible variant is also in the works. The new diesel engine though is expected to be extremely frugal and could return an average fuel economy of 22-25 km/l. The diesel engine will also make it to Maruti’s passenger vehicles by next year, with the Celerio being one of the first vehicles to get the new diesel powerplant.
When pitted against the competition, the Mahindra Maxximo comes with a 4-speed MT gearbox, while the top end Tata Ace comes with a 5-speed MT gearbox, but none come with turbocharged technology and the same will be a first in the segment. The company has sent two units of the complete vehicle along with mechanicals from Japan to India in November and December last year to further be evaluated by Maruti engineers. The Y9T LCV will see an early 2015 launch in the country.
Source – Gaadi.com