Maruti is all set to launch its all-new Ciaz sedan. When it is taken into account, the nation’s largest manufacturer has a straight away line up of 13 cars down the line. However, only five cars, (Ciaz, Ertiga, Dzire, Swift and Ritz) out of these 13 are powered by a diesel engine. Wagon R and Omni are the only models, which come with a LPG variant. Factory-fitted CNG kits can be installed on the Eeco, WagonR, Ertiga, Celerio and Alto 800. This format leaves a lot of open space, which can be filled in by introducing CNG and diesel variants.
As a result of this, Maruti has decided that it would fill in the gaps with diesel and CNG variants in the present line up of cars instead of going for newer models. Its Annual General Meeting was held on September 4th, and the decision of adding to its arsenal of diesel and CNG varieties were taken here. Its diesel line up will be powered by the new 800 cc engine, which has been indigenously designed. A lot of cash flow will be saved, which used to go to Fiat for designing their 1.3 Multijet engine. The 800 cc will be replaced slowly one by one based on the models and it is expected that their expenditure will be somewhat reduced.
The gap between diesel and petrol prices has been narrowing consistently. In turn, the market shares of Maruti in the petrol and diesel segment has been narrowing, as well. With more and more diesel versions being added to its list, it is expected that the gap will further bridge and it might be even possible for the diesel figure to overtake the petrol one.
