It’s the end of the road for diesel vehicles in the Maruti Suzuki stables!
Maruti Suzuki announced today that it will stop manufacturing diesel vehicles from April 1, 2020. The reason for which remains the higher manufacturing costs on account of stricter BS6 emission norms that would make the diesel vehicles significantly expensive for the customers, pricing them out of the market.
The company currently offers as many as 8 diesel models which include The Brezza and S cross SUVs that are only available in the diesel variant. As for the other models like Swift, Baleno, Dzire, Ciaz, Ertiga and super carry light commercial vehicle are available in both diesel and petrol variants.
“We have taken this decision so that in 2022 we are able to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency norms and a higher share of CNG vehicles will help us comply with the norms. I hope the union government’s policies will help grow the market for CNG vehicles,” added Bhargava.
When asked about the future of diesel variants which are often blamed for rising pollution in cities he said “From April next year, Maruti will have no diesel cars for sale. People who love diesel cars may rush to buy them now. It’s their last chance. If I was a fan (of diesel), I would buy only this year”
In the full year FY 19, the New Delhi-based company reported 2.9% decrease in net profit to ₹7,500.6 crore while the revenues grew by just 6.3% to ₹8,3026.5 crore.
Maruti’s withdrawal from diesel may have a significant impact on the sales dynamics in the Indian passenger vehicles market, with many other companies looking at a rethink on diesel plans. Currently, companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota have significant volumes coming from diesel models, and others such as Hyundai are also expanding in the category.
