Rumour: Maruti Suzuki discontinues the Grand Vitara SUV?

Petrol cars and SUVs are finding few takers in the diesel-happy Indian market. The poor sales of petrol engined cars in the higher segments of the Indian car market has meant that many automakers operating in the luxury space are turning to diesel-only models. This strategy is especially true of the SUV segment, in which there is an overwhelming preference towards diesel engined models. This lack in demand for petrol powered cars and SUVs has resulted in car makers discontinuing many petrol-only cars.

Note: Images used in this report are that of the facelifted Suzuki Escudo, known as the Grand Vitara here. 

A few examples that spring to mind are the recently discontinued Mitsubishi Cedia sedan and Outlander SUV, and the Maruti Suzuki Kizashi sedan. A scoop on MotorBeam suggests that Maruti Suzuki has discontinued the Grand Vitara, a petrol-only SUV imported through the completely built unit (CBU) route. The 5 seat Grand Vitara's price rivals that of diesel engined SUVs due to importing through the CBU route. The high price has meant that Maruti Suzuki has sold less than 10 units of the car over the past one year.

The abysmal sales seem to have prompted India's largest carmaker to cull the SUV, as supporting it with spares and service might not be sustainable anymore. The Grand Vitara is powered by a 2.4 liter-4 cylinder petrol engine that outputs 163.5 Bhp of peak power and 225 Nm of peak torque. The engine is available with 5 speed manual and 4 speed automatic gearbox options. The SUV comes with a full time 4 wheel drive mode that features a center locking differential.

Internationally, the Grand Vitara is available with a Fiat Multijet 1.9 liter turbo diesel engine, an option that Maruti Suzuki has never exercised on the India-spec model. The 1.9 liter diesel engine outputs 128 Bhp-300 Nm and could have been the ideal option for a CKD assembled version of the Grand Vitara sold in India. Meanwhile, the Grand Vitara continues to be listed on Maruti Suzuki's website.

The SUV's MT variant is priced at 22.68 lakh rupees while the AT variant is priced at 24.60 lakh rupees, both prices reflecting ex-showroom Delhi figures. Discount hunters are likely to get good deals on left over stock, if any.