Maruti Suzuki confirms to make affordable diesel cars in future

The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said it will continue to manufacture diesel cars that customers can afford, thus ruling out stopping the production of diesel cars completely.

The cars are set to get costlier with the upcoming BS-VI emission norms from April next year. Currently, the auto major sells various cars with diesel powertrains, including S-Cross, Ciaz, Vitara Brezza, Dzire, Baleno, and Swift.

While the bigger cars are likely to continue, the carmaker is expected to pull the plug on small diesel cars in its portfolio.

As per some reports that are surfacing over the internet, Maruti Suzuki may soon be looking to launch the electric and hybrid variant of its premium hatchback Baleno. However, the company has already announced that it will be launching the all-electric version of WagonR in India.

Maruti has been shipping the hybrid variants of Baleno to several international markets already for over the last three years now.

A video of the testing car has surfaced over the internet where the whole design and looks of the premium hatchback is same except a ‘Smart Hybrid’ badge which could be seen in the video.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Baleno sport a 1.2-litre petrol which can produce 82 Bhp of power and 115 Nm of torque and 1.3-litre diesel engine can produce 74 Bhp of power and a peak torque of 190 Nm.

The company has also confirmed that all variants of the Baleno facelift will come with rear parking sensors, speed warning and passenger seatbelt warning as standard.

 The company has sold over 5.2 lakh units of the model cumulatively till date. Last week, Maruti had also started the booking of highly anticipated next-gen Wagon R.