Maruti Suzuki is not planning to introduce BS6-compliant diesel engine for small cars. The company believes that the small diesel cars do not find any economic viability as the market is gradually shifting towards petrol models.
The Indo-Japanese automaker is now aiming to expand its CNG product portfolio to regain the lost market share. Speaking to PTI reported, Shashank Srivastava, MSI Executive Director Sales & Marketing said, “There is absolutely no logic in developing a small diesel engine. It is less than 5 per cent in hatchback segment and has reduced considerably in sedans and entry-level SUV segment as now economics does not support it.”
Depending on the demand for diesel-powered big SUVs and sedan, the company could introduce bigger BS6-compliant diesel engine at a later stage. The company is aiming to sell around 1.4 to 1.5 lakh CNG vehicles this financial year as compared to 1.07 lakh units sold in 2019-20. Also See – Maruti Suzuki Eriga CNG Launched
Maruti Suzuki aims to sell 10 lakh cars with green technology over the next few years. The CNG cars are cheaper than normal diesel cars and it much more cheaper to run. Despite decline of 18 percent in the passenger vehicle segment, CNG segment grew by 7 percent last financial year.
Maruti Suzuki is currently selling 8 cars with factory-fitted CNG units. In fact, Government of India is also planning to double the number of existing CNG outlets in next one year. There are close to 1900 CNG sales outlets in close to 195 cities in the country.
