Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the country's largest passenger car maker, seems to be working on the development of diesel variant of its one of the favourite hatchbacks, WagonR. Industry experts are of a view that this move has been taken by the company as the demand for diesel models have increased in the Indian auto market, because of a wide gap in the prices of petrol and diesel. Sources close to the development process hinted that the model will be showcased somewhere in the first half of 2014 and will surely take the compact car segment by storm.
It is believed that the car will come equipped with a 0.8 litre engine, which will have a displacement of 800 cc. Reportedly, the same engine will be equipped within the Alto 800 diesel, which is also soon expected to mark its presence among the price sensitive Indian buyers. Sources further said that this diesel engine has been developed by the in-house team of Maruti Suzuki India Limited with assistance from engineers of Suzuki Motors, based in Japan. Industry experts are of a view that since the new diesel engine has been manufactured by Maruti Suzuki itself, the upcoming WagonR model will be priced competitively.
The addition of a new diesel hatchback in Maruti Suzuki's Indian portfolio will deliver a stiff competition to the Chevrolet Beat Diesel and yet to be launched Hyundai Grand i10. It must be noted that the Indian auto market is currently going through some of the not so favourable times. Therefore, launch of new models from some of the renowned makers like Maruti Suzuki in the market can play a crucial role in improving the current situation of the auto industry. It must be noted that Maruti Suzuki is known for offering a number of performance oriented models in the Indian auto market at aggressive prices, which has facilitated it in achieving a brilliant rate of success. Some of the iconic model of the company in India are diesel variants of Swift hatchback and Swift DZire compact sedan.
