Maruti is planning to discontinue and shutdown diesel engine production in Gurgaon plant

Maruti Suzuki is planning to shut down the diesel plant in Gurgaon. The manufacturer is planning to increase the production of the petrol car in its’ line-up. The reason for this is the sharp decline in diesel sales and people preferring a petrol engine. There are people who like to fit a CNG kit to such products too. The plant is right now making 1.3-litre diesel engines which are used in every car Maruti offers with a diesel variant. With the shift to petrol, this plant could be converted to making petrol engines if not sold.

Maruti Suzuki’s current diesel assembly line in Gurgaon has a capacity of approximately 170,000 engines per annum. The homegrown automaker also produces Fiat’s 1.3-litre diesel engine at its Manesar factory, which has an annual capacity of around 300,000 units. The company not only wants to discontinue production but also is rumored to be planning to sell the plant.

Worth mentioning here is that diesel cars are expensive compared to petrol cars and their maintenance cost is high as well. Over the past couple of years, the difference in petrol and diesel price has narrowed which is one of the reasons why people are more inclined towards petrol cars.

According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, while petrol car’s market share went up to 60% in FY18 from 47% in FY14, the share of diesel vehicles, on the other hand, fell to 40% from 53% which signifies the declining demand of diesel cars.

Such a move is a financial and smart business decision. We will come to know more about this plan in the coming year with the companies promise of EV products and how many jobs will this effect.

What do you think about this move by Maruti? Do you think Maruti should stop manufacturing diesel cars in India? Let us know in the comments below.

Also Read: Tata Tiago’s new commercial is wow