HomeCar NewsMaruti Celerio diesel launch delayed, engine spied

Maruti Celerio diesel launch delayed, engine spied

The all-new indigenously built 800 cc diesel engine from India’s Maruti Suzuki, has been spied for the first time. Seen here fitted inside the Celerio DDiS, the machine is currently a work in progress. Apart from Maruti Celerio, this new diesel will also find its way aboard the new LCV from Maruti, codenamed Y9T. Of the two, it is the Y9T which is expected to launch first.

 Maruti Celerio diesel engine spy shot – Credit GaadiWaadi

This new 800 cc engine from Maruti is a two cylinder mill, which is expected to deliver power in the range of 35-40 PS. Aimed at entry level car buyers, the USP of this engine will be its efficiency. Though there is no official word out yet, we guess Maruti Celerio diesel to deliver mileage of 30+ kmpl, thereby making it India’s most fuel efficient car. (a title which currently belongs to the new Honda City diesel, which claims a mileage of 26 kmpl)

Speaking about the launch of Maruti Celerio diesel, or the Y9T LCV, it was supposed to take place by April this year. But a new report by Economic Times suggests that this might have been delayed by a good 3-6 months. Production of both new diesel vehicles was supposed to have started back in Dec 2014, spy shots of Celerio with DDiS badge had also surfaced on the internet. But, it is now revealed that the production has not started yet. People close to the development suggest that the production might start post April 2015.

 Maruti Celerio diesel is expected to be priced at around Rs. 4.6 lakhs.

It is not clear as to why there has been a delay, but it could be because of two reasons. One, Maruti is still working on refining the engine or second, the drop in petrol price, which has seen the new car buyers selecting petrol cars over entry level diesel hatchbacks.

Apart from this, Maruti had aimed to produce 80,000 to 90,000 units combined of LCV and Celerio diesel annually initially. But as of now, this projection has been brought down by up to 80%. The targets are now at 15,000 to 20,000 per annum, or 600-700 units of LCV and 1,000 units of Celerio diesel per month.

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