[Technocrat]

Alto Is still being sold as Alto in some countries. Swift Came from the Concept S which replaced the old Swift(esteem)

Coming back to Topic.

Probably they want companies to promote making Hatches which can sport a a small engine & still provide a spacious interior. This will in some ways lsten the burden on our roads also this will indirectly force people to stay away from big cars & not blame govt as people can still get roomier cars.
I dont think they are bothered about the less power or may be they dont want people to drive powerfull cars :|

[sbasak]

Initially car was a luxury item.
Slowly it has become affordable with 800 cc engine.
Then there was a choice of engine size 800 to 2000 cc.
The economy is moving gradually.
Now cars upto 1.2 Liter engines are not considered so luxury items. So, reduced duty.
As time passes, the 1.2 mark will be gradually updated to 1.4, 1.5 and so on....
Only time will tell...

[Rtech]

Interesting point of view there sbasak, but I don't think that was a reason behind it.

[lohithrao]

I dont know whether this point is already been made... if the are goverment considers that 1.2 or lesser is a smaller car and will occupy lesser space on road.. i think here there is a twist on it.. 1.2 means a sluggish engine so when loaded.. that is 4-5 sit... which its supposed to... imagine how it would behave.... discouraging all the 1.2 or the below category car owners to take passengers...this will increase the number of cars on the road... adding up to the trouble....

hope i make sense

[Steeroid]

As di pointed out, the reason was Maruti. Who are the biggest private shareholders in Maruti after Suzuki Motor Corp (54%) and Govt of India (18%)?

Take a wild guess.

[Technocrat]

I doubt that, if that was the case they would have put the ceiling at 1.3 since MUL has both Swift & Esteem which are next in sales after Alto & M800 for MUL.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

As di pointed out, the reason was Maruti. Who are the biggest private shareholders in Maruti after Suzuki Motor Corp (54%) and Govt of India (18%)?

Take a wild guess.

Used to be GM. Who is it now?

[Mpower]

So far I think GTO's point is the most valid. It was meant to boost sales of Santros, Altos etc. All the big hatches are trying to join the party but its not so bad. Keep in mind that Indian market always got the fairly large engines.

• Corsa gets a 1.0 3-cyl for Europe
• Getz already was selling in Europe with 1.1 Santro Engine
• 1.4 for Indica petrol was considered oversized from Day1 and the only reason it was so is because it shared the diesel's bottom end.
• Corolla gets a 1.3 for certain markets
• Alto gets 660 cc for Japan
• Palio was offered with Uno's engine in certain markets (not 100% sure about this)
• Lancer gets 1.8 and probably 1.6 for other markets
• Swift/Geo Metro (Indian Esteem) sold with 1.0 L 3cyl in the US
• Honda Jazz (NHC) sells with 1.2L and 1.3L version of the idsi in Japan

I think down the line, it will encourage manufacturers to come up with the right size car thats roomy as well as not exceed 1.2 L. (well...we know that aint gonna happen because nobody designs specifically for India except TATA). But there is a similar issue going on in Thailand right now.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Eh, you're getting it wrong. M800, Zen, and Alto are the same car, different generations, in that order. Internationally they were all known as the Alto.

Zen was Alto only for Europe. In Japan it was the Cervo and now there is a new Cervo which is their 'Kei' sized car but with 660 cc engine. The SX4 is a Swift that has been stretched and widened.

[v1p3r]

In India we get the bigger of the engines because they have to satisfy everyone at the same time. You can't make a really stingy car and then add engines like in the west. For example, the Geo Metro also came with the twin-cam 1300 and the 1.0 turbo.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Zen was Alto only for Europe. In Japan it was the Cervo and now there is a new Cervo which is their 'Kei' sized car but with 660 cc engine. The SX4 is a Swift that has been stretched and widened.

Ok, true to some extent, but the Alto was released in Japan along with the Cervo in the late 70s, and both are descendants of the Fronte. Stupid Suzuki keeps mixing names and engines, with Alto, Baleno, Swift, Esteem all meaning different things in different countries.

[rahul_intlad]

In addition to gto's point I think safety too is an issue,imagine powerful engines for cars like the maruti 800 and god help everyone on the road.

[Mpower]

At the end of the day, if a Hero Honda 100cc can pull 2 fat guys and keep up with our traffic (which crawls anyway), then 1.2 L will suffice for 4 guys.

V1per, lotsa cars like Fiesta, NHC, Fiat, Aveo, Renno are offering multiple petrol engine options for India.

[ess_a]

I dont know, but this may well also be a reason..
Politics would mean appeasing the vote bank. Now what would cheer up a "common" man? Not a 3ltr V6 Accord getting cheaper because of duty cuts. But surely a similar move for the dear old "marrutti"(with the punjabi accent) would definitly bring a wide smile on our faces!!
Plus, people dont drive their Accords to polling booths, however marrutti people do. So......

[csentil]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Maruti is the biggest beneficiary of this peculiar rule which probably owes itself to Maruti's pull and lobbying skills in Govt. rather than to any logic or reason. The Maruti MD Mr Jagdish Khattar is a former IAS officer and GOI still held equity in Maruti when the rule was framed.

Very true. The two largest sellers of small cars are Maruti and Hyundai. And there are a lot of vested interests in these companies. If these companies do well then certain political parties/personalities get their pockets lined.

[swathyd]

Originally Posted by Rtech

I
- less power and torque
This means that a driver has to revv the engine and work the gearbox more to stay abreast with traffic. Also, the lack of power makes overtaking more dangerous.

- Costs the same to build
There really cannot be much of a difference in cost to manufacture a 1.5liter engine or a 1.1 liter one.

Maybe someone here can shed some light on the rational behind this
decision.

I think overtaking with less powerful engines and rationale behind price difference between 1 and 1.6 ltrs should be started as two new threads. Because they are very relevant and needs to be highlighted.

[hellspawn]

what if a car manufacturer were to put a turbo on a car with an engine capacity of 1.2L and the power gets bumped up from say 60 to 100bhp.would the car still qualify for the excise duty.has it been mentioned that the engine size has to be < 1200cc and naturally aspirated.