Maruti to steer clear of diesel cars, to make petrol cars more fuel efficient

Maruti Suzuki has decided to stay away from diesel vehicle segment and rather focus on making its petrol vehicles more fuel efficient. The company's newly launched 2021 Celerio mid-hatchback with new K10-C engine is claimed to be the country's most fuel-efficient petrol car, and comes with a mileage of 26.68 kmpl.

The country's largest carmaker believes that the sales of diesel vehicles would further come down post the onset of the next phase of emission norms in 2023, the company's Chief Technical Officer C V Raman told PTI. He noted that in the last few years there has been a gradual shift towards petrol cars. "Going forward, we will not be participating in the diesel space," he added.

The upcoming stricter emission norms has been cited as the primary reason to avoid diesel-powered cars. “In 2023, the new phase of emission norms will come which is likely to drive up the cost. So we believe that diesel percentages may further come down," Raman said, adding that Maruti has no intention to participate in the diesel space.

The share of diesel vehicles in the country is currently less than 17 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle (PV) sales, as per the industry estimates. This is a massive fall from the 2013-14 period when diesel cars used to account for 60 per cent of the overall sales. Since the implementation of the BS 6 emission norms from April 1, 2020, many automakers like Maruti ditched diesel trims of their respective portfolios.

Across its portfolio, Maruti offers BS 6-compliant 1 litre, 1.2 litre and 1.5 litre petrol engines, and also offers CNG trims across seven of its models. The company aims to further improve its internal combustion engine technology in terms of fuel efficiency and may also look at a new family of engines to power its product portfolio in the future.

(with inputs from PTI)