The future of small diesel engines has been under much deliberation lately and as the country’s leading carmaker, Maruti Suzuki has been in the focus of the debate. Today, Maruti announced that it won’t be offering any models with diesel engines from 1 April 2020 onwards. This includes the 1.5-litre diesel-powered Ciaz that was launched in March 2019.
Maruti Suzuki, however, maintains that it will consider introducing a BS 6 diesel engine of 1.5-litre or greater capacity if there is consumer demand. The 1.3-litre diesel engine that’s on offer on Maruti cars currently will certainly cease to exist.
As of now, the 1.3-litre DDiS 190 diesel engine is offered across many models in Maruti’s lineup. This includes the Swift, Dzire, Baleno and Brezza. Other BS 4 diesel engine models are the Ertiga, S-Cross and Ciaz, which use the 1.3-litre DDiS 200 Smart Hybrid diesel powertrain. All these models will witness their 1.3-litre diesel versions being phased out in the coming months. Given that the current only-diesel Maruti cars like the Brezza and S-Cross won’t be discontinued post April 2020, it is obvious that these cars will get a BS 6 petrol engine soon.
Maruti had already phased out diesel engines in the Ignis hatchback while smaller cars like the WagonR have remained petrol and CNG-powered only. The Baleno has already got a fresh set of BS 6 petrol engines and the Alto’s 0.8-litre unit has been updated too. At the current pace, Maruti is expected to roll out the BS 6 petrol and/or petrol-hybrid engines for the WagonR, Celerio, Swift, Dzire and Ignis within this year.
If you’re planning to buy a diesel Maruti based on your high average mileage, it’s best to get one now. We expect Maruti Suzuki to continue to offer service support to all its diesel cars for the foreseeable future.
By: CarDekho
