[Mafia]

Does this mean Maruti will re-start the 'Petrol vs Diesel' money saved ad campaign again?

On a serious note, this move also suggests the threat posed by EV's to ICE engines.

Major players stop producing and developing and ICE's fade faster as the emission norms become tighter and tighter. The ROI on a new ICE is diminishing rapidly.

With Toyota changing its mind on EV's, we should see a slew of EV's from Suzuki soon enough too. Probably the first one would be the WagonR EV.

[Lowflyer23]

Originally Posted by Anwesh

As Ford has decided to exit the car business in India but shall keep on making engines, Maruti should talk to them for 1.5 liter Diesels. Those Ford engines ate wayy better than anything MUL can hope to develop.

Regards,

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Not really, not at least with the current DPF woes of the TDCi mill.

PS: Sorry for going off topic

Yes, DPF issues exist as many may call out but the greater problem is that Maruti cars fitted with Ford's 1.5 TDCI would take off from the tarmac even at half throttle.

[Emvi]

After axing diesel engines from their line up, boffins at Maruti were probably expecting the sales to drop to an extent. I believe many of us anticipated it, I sure did. Maruti ran aggressive "diesel versus petrol" marketing campaigns to nullify the repercussions. So, why did they go ahead with the decision? It probably was due to their ineptness in getting the in-house developed 1.5 diesel engine BS6 compliant in the stipulated time. For reasons best known to Maruti, right from the outset Maruti seemed less enthusiastic about the diesel mill.

Although there was considerable drop in sales begining of the 2020-21 FY, it was more due to be the pandemic situation than any other reason. The sales pattern was quite haphazardous for all the automakers. With no clear pointers, Maruti probably wanted to keep the diesel option in reckoning if need be. Now with some semblance of stability in the automarket, Maruti's sales numbers are nothing less than impressive even with the chip shortage issues. The volume churners Brezza, Baleno, Swift and Ertiga are still leading the pack in their respective segments despite having no diesel option. This might have prompted Maruti to shelve the 1.5 diesel mill plans permanently, if they really have.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by Emvi

After axing diesel engines from their line up, boffins at Maruti were probably expecting the sales to drop to an extent...

Now with some semblance of stability in the automarket, Maruti's sales numbers are nothing less than impressive even with the chip shortage issues. The volume churners Brezza, Baleno, Swift and Ertiga are still leading the pack in their respective segments despite having no diesel option.

The true picture will emerge in the balance sheet. Need to closely look at 'Profit Before Tax' in next quarterly/ half yearly results.

Brezza is surely selling good numbers, but not sure its bringing in same moolah for the company, loosing sub-4m tax benefit with 1.5L petrol engine.

[xavierk]

What they need to come with is a plugin hybrid. which has about a realworld 150KM electric range.

It can make for a lot of people make the ideal 2nd car that becomes the daily driver for everyday.

takes range anxiety out of the equation and allows you to dive most of the time on electric only. A Ciaz with that would be the car i buy for the driver to drive around for everyting.

[GTO]

Although I believe that Maruti will persist with its diesel engine plans (diesel still sells a LOT), I can think of a few reasons why Maruti could've given up on its efforts:

- The most important, it's been able to maintain its sales momentum & market-share with a petrol-only lineup.

- Maruti sees the future as electric, not diesel.

- Long-term testing woes, just like Ford's famous DPF troubles. Maruti isn't one to sell troublesome cars.

- The government is poised to make diesel emissions even stricter in 2023. Maruti struggled with the 2020 rules. How will it manage the even more stringent ones?

- The segments that Maruti dominates in are petrol-inclined anyway. Fact is, diesel presence is strong in the 12+ lakh car segments, not so much below.

That said, a company that fights tooth & nail even for 1000 sales will not give up on diesels so easily. I think there is a fair chance we might see the 1.5L BS6 diesel as it's a fantastic engine, ready-to-fit in many Marutis & so many other OEMs have made the BS6 transition without trouble.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by shortbread

What this shows is not Maruti's concern for the environment, who are we kidding? Suzuki has no real R&D competence apart from developing small light manual petrol cars, so what this shows is lack of skill. Also, if they are concerned about fuel prices, well what alternatives do you have Suzuki....pedal power?

Suzuki India spends more money developing special edition graphic stickers than on any real R&D!

Well said, I chuckled at pedal power
All said and done, I hope Suzuki finds a way and gets the 1.5 out. Will suit Ertiga, XL6 and even the Jimny better than their current petrol engine.

[Big Smoke]

If Maruti has indeed failed to develop their diesel engine to meet BS6 compliance, it is very sad news. When a company like Force Motors has been able to make their primitive diesel engine BS6 compliant, it is shameful for the country's leading automobile company to fail in this endeavour. Everyone (except small players VAG India & Renault-Nissan) has been able to successfully transit to BS6 diesels.

[SulemanP]

Originally Posted by rsidd

It makes complete sense to abandon diesel plans. Diesel prices are now close to petrol. And diesel is highly polluting and all five big Germans (VW, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi) have been fined for colluding to slow deployment of clean technology. Clean diesel is basically impossible. All manufacturers should get off that train now.

The future is electric. Tata seems to be the only one to really grasp this. Maybe Maruti has plans behind the scenes, but the market is going to grow sharply from this point on; Tata is well poised to take a huge chunk of it; and Maruti should have some plans. But, again, forget diesel. Tata claims Nexon EV is selling comparable to Nexon diesel now. That trend will accelerate.

Remember Nokia rejecting Google Android when it was offered to them for the very first time and the rest is history. Guess the same is happening with other OEMs a strategic miscalculation...looks like TATA read the scenario perfectly and also acted up on it swiftly...

[Electromotive]

Seems like the writing is on the wall, loud and clear. Start moving to electric or start losing market share.

It is also time manufacturers move to a direct sales model and cut out the dealerships (stealer-ships?) and come up with a way to ensure uniform customer experience irrespective of the city or state. OLA is on the right track.

[NiInJa]

Don't think Maruti Suzuki lacked the expertise to get the 1.5 Diesel BS6 ready. If it was really the case, they would have sourced it from somewhere else if it was a priority.

Some reasons I can think of:
1. Their collaboration with Toyota means they will focus more on getting hybrid tech in their petrol engines in future.

2. With most manufacturers stating they will move to fully electric powertrains by 2030, it won't make sense to invest any further in small diesel engines. Maruti is just late to the party in the sense they didn't launch any car with BS6 diesel engine so far.

3. Considering their market share and their USP: Small, frugal cars which is anyway dominated by petrol engines, there is no point having the diesel engine for a relatively smaller subset of diesel enthusiasts.

4. Might be some critical issues were found with the BS6 engine under development and Maruti does not believe in selling cars with inherent issues (no DCT gearbox for example)

What I really want them to do is divert these savings to bring a 5 or 6 speed TC automatic in their current crop of cars The S-Cross/Brezza would have sold more if they had a 5 speed automatic

[dsuman]

Iam currently on a lookout for a small car. I visited Maruti and Hyundai Showrooms. This is what the advisors had to say.

Maruti: The SA used to sell ~ 100 cars per month before BS6. Now he is selling around ~ 55 or so. Lack of Diesel has affected sales badly. When i brought up the topic of build quality he was trying to skip the questions. So Lack of Diesel and Flimsy build are impacting Maruti Sales.

Hyundai: The SA clearly told me that Diesel Hyundais have 3 months waiting but petrols can be had in a month. Lack of Diesel in Maruti has resulted in customers jumping over to Hyundai

I am sure Maruti will loose further market share due to this decision. After Maruti, Hyundai becomes the default choice for car enquiry. Its Advantage Hyundai.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with any Car OEM.

[axe_deo]

Originally Posted by GTO

..

- The most important, it's been able to maintain its sales momentum & market-share with a petrol-only lineup.

It's an extraordinary achievement by Maruti. Maruti hasn't lost any market share whatsoever despite losing out on Diesel Engines. Most of us were expecting a major loss of market share for Maruti because of absence of diesel engines.
But, most of us have been proven wrong.
This further pushes Maruti away from diesel engines. Although I hope they bring back their diesel engines, I highly doubt they will do it, with the success they are enjoying with an all petrol line-up.

[aashishnb]

Am I the only one here

Could it be interpreted that they've shelved plans to make their own engine BS6 complaint and have decided to just buy the engines from someone else (Toyota for eg)

[Rohit Tripathi]

Some points to consider Maruti was quickest to exit diesel engines even when they had the 1.5 deployed and commercially they lost a lot of revenue.
My view is there is some push from powers that have a stake in ethanol blending in petrol and we can imagine if the entire passenger car segment moves to petrol engines with ethanol what benefits the company will derive

Normal oil companies spend billions in exploration and here just by blending they will benefit from every liter consumed.