As we transitioned into the BS6 era earlier this year, a lot of manufacturers like Skoda, Volkswagen and even Maruti Suzuki discontinued their diesel engines from their entire lineup. Maruti Suzuki had said that going ahead, their lineup would consist of petrol-only models as the cost of upgrading diesel engines to meet the BS6 norms were particularly very high. However, there were several reports around mid-2020 about Maruti Suzuki bringing back their diesel engines.
Now, reports suggest that sources from the company have actually confirmed that the 1.5L diesel engine will make a comeback in BS6 guise by the end of 2021. Maruti Suzuki had earlier said that they would bring back diesel engines in their models if there's sufficient demand in the market for the same. And going by current trends, diesel engines continue to make up a decent percentage of the total sales volume each month.
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In fact, Hyundai, Kia, Tata and Mahindra have all continued to enjoy a good amount of success with their diesel engines spread across their lineup. Maruti Suzuki currently has a petrol-only lineup but they continue with the largest market share in the country. Bringing back diesel engines will certainly bring them back the loyal set of customers who drifted away with the lack of that option. It is Maruti Suzuki's in-house developed 1.5L diesel engine that's set to make a comeback in BS6 guise.
The exact specifications of this engine are yet to be revealed but we expect it to continue to produce 95hp and 225Nm of torque, just as the BS4-spec engine. This engine was offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox and we expect that to remain unchanged as well. In the BS4 era, this engine was found under the hoods of the Ertiga and the Ciaz. We expect Maruti Suzuki to debut the BS6 iteration of the 1.5L diesel engine on the Ertiga as a test mule has been spotted testing for a while now.
Going ahead, this engine will eventually also be offered on the Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and the XL6. The Vitara Brezza and S-Cross were diesel-only models previously and would hugely benefit with the return of a diesel engine. These upcoming diesel models could however command a healthy premium over their petrol counterparts, around the region of INR 1.4 lakh. The first BS6 Maruti Suzuki diesel model is expected to make its debut by the end of 2021.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Maruti Suzuki updates and other four-wheeler news.
