Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the largest car maker in the country, will be sourcing up to 1 lakh diesel engines per annum from the Italian auto maker Fiat. As per a deal finalized between these two car makers, Fiat will be supplying 1 lakh units of its diesel engines to MSIL on a per annum basis. The latest diesel engine sourcing deal will help the car maker to increase the output of its highly popular premium hatchback Swift, which in turn will help in bringing down the mounting waiting period of the car.
It is to be mentioned here that continuous hikes in the price of petrol in the Indian market has boosted the demand for diesel (which is a cheaper alternative) cars in the country. Thus with the increase in the supply of Fiat diesel engines, the company will be able to deliver more and more cars to the customers who have been waiting for a long time now. Maruti currently sources diesel engines from Fiat for a range of its diesel run cars including premium hatchbacks like Ritz and Swift, and mid-size sedan Maruti SX4.
Meanwhile, Maruti has increased the prices of its diesel run cars by up to Rs 10,000 in the Indian market, in a bid to capitalize on the increasing demand for diesel run cars along with saving its margins from increasing input costs due to depreciating rupee. The company’s car models are facing stiff competition from the recently launched new cars in India including the likes of Hyundai EON (rivaling Maruti Alto), Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo (rivaling Maruti Swift), etc.
In a recent statement, Maruti Chairman, R C Bhargava said, "We have a waiting list of diesel cars and we have surplus capacity capacity of petrol cars"
