Maruti Suzuki exploring plan to build its own family of diesel engines

By Ketan Thakkar, ET Bureau | 8 Oct, 2013, 10.03AM IST

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READ MORE ON » Will Power | Suzuki Motor | suzuki | Maruti Suzuki | Kenichi Ayukawa | Fiat

Maruti has been relying on Italian carmaker Fiat's 1.3-multijet-diesel engines, and has not been able to offer a wider product portfolio of diesel cars.

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MUMBAI: Even as the government attempts to deregulate diesel prices, India's largest carmaker Maruti SuzukiBSE 0.15 % is exploring an ambitious plan to build its own family of diesel engines,to power vehicles across segments.

So far, Maruti has been relying on Italian carmaker Fiats 1-3 multi-jet-diesel engines, and has not been able to offer a wider product portfolio of diesel cars to Indian buyers. But besides the 1.3-litre engine, it now wants to build its own family of engines.

In an exclusive interview to ET, Kenichi Ayukawa, MD, Maruti Suzuki, confirmed the development. He said: For me, rising diesel prices is a big headache. We have already started developing a diesel engine. We are studying how diesel prices will move further in the future. But people will still expect diesel cars in the future."

ET learns that Maruti Suzuki is exploring a family of 3-4 diesel engines ranging from 2-cylinder 800 cc that will power the light commercial vehicle (LCV) codenamed (Y9T) and a small car (YL7),and a 3-cylinder --1.2-litre engine and a 4-cylinder engine that could spawn out two different cubic capacity of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre engines that are still on paper. These engines may power the upcoming bigger crossovers and SUVs for Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki's own engine is likely to complement Fiat engine, going ahead.

The diesel engines will be developed with key inputs from its Indian subsidiary's R&D, which is gaining strength from its independent infrastructure at Rohtak in Haryana.

People involved with the development of diesel engines at Suzuki Motor Company say that the endeavour to have the company's own diesel engine began way back in 2009-10.The company (Suzuki Motor Company) first started working on a 1.6-litre engine of its own in 2010-11 and it began talks with Fiat for its 1.6-litre multi-jet engine, including a more powerful 1.3-litre engine option for future big cars.

"The talks did not fructify with Fiat. At the same time, the LCV market in India was booming and 1.6-litre engine options for bigger car did not seem viable. Therefore, Suzuki shifted focus to build an 800-cc platform from ground up, which could churn out more diesel engines in the future. The development of its first diesel engine (800 cc) has already hit a proto stage and suppliers have already been brought on board for development, said a person close to the development.

The first 800-cc diesel engine is likely to hit the market by 2014-15.
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                                                                                                           SARVESH KUMAR SINGH
                                                                                                                     PGDM 1st sem