India’s leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has achieved yet another milestone this year. The company has successfully upgraded 70 per cent of its petrol car lineup to be BSVI emission norms compliant. The automaker claimed the same in a regulatory filing and said that a total of 6 petrol car models are now BSVI compliant, ahead of the April 2020 deadline. To let you know, the new Maruti Suzuki XL6 MPV will also be launched with a BSVI compliant petrol engine, making it the seventh car in the manufacturer’s lineup to get an upgraded engine.
Six other Maruti Suzuki petrol car models which are now BSVI compliant including the Alto 800, WagonR (1.2 litre), Swift, Baleno, Dzire and the Ertiga MPV. Maruti Suzuki also claims that it is the first manufacturer in India to have so many BSVI vehicles in its lineup well-ahead of the April 2020 deadline. The first model by the company to be BSVI compliant was the Baleno facelift that was launched in January this year.
The same was then followed by Alto 800, WagonR, Swift, Dzire and Ertiga. Commenting on the occasion, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said,
“As a responsible and environment-conscious brand, Maruti Suzuki is aligned with the Government of India’s vision to introduce BS-VI compliant vehicles before April 2020. Seven of our top-selling models are BS-VI compliant much before the deadline.”
“We are committed to progressively upgrade our entire range of petrol cars to BS-VI technology before stipulated timelines. The BS-VI vehicles use Suzuki’s proven technology that helps to substantially reduce the emissions thus contributing to a cleaner and greener environment.”
“We extend our gratitude to our customers who are early adopters of environment-friendly BS-VI technology in our vehicles.”
To let you know, the Indian government skipped the BSV norm and jumped directly to BSVI after the current BSIV. This was done in the wake of the increasing pollution across the country as well as in a bid to meet international emission standards. BSVI vehicles will emit substantially fewer pollutants in the air and though the upgrading cost may increase vehicle prices by quite a lot, it will prove beneficial in the long run.
Several Maruti vehicles including the Vitara Brezza, S-Cross, and the Ciaz among others. Also, none of the diesel engines has been upgraded to meet the new stringent BSVI norms as Maruti plans to shun production before the deadline. The company announced sometime back that come April 2020, diesel engine option would no longer be available in its car. While this is not a permanent decision and the company may still make diesel power cars if the demand persists, their cost will be substantially higher than the current diesel models due to the high costs of BSVI upgrade.