Photo of an email, which was reportedly sent to Maruti dealers across India has been leaked online. As per this leaked photo, Maruti Suzuki has instructed dealers that production of Gypsy has stopped. Dealers are also instructed to not accept any more bookings of Gypsy. Production of Maruti Gypsy all variants has been stopped with immediate effect.
The Gypsy was launched in 1985 and was first commissioned to the Indian Army in 1991 and continues to be a favoured vehicle for the Defence Forces to this day. It is powered by a 16 valve MPFI G13BB engine producing 80 bhp power and 103 Nm torque. The engine is longitudinally mounted and power is sent to rear wheels or all four wheels in the case of AWD. The engine returns 11.96 kmpl mileage.
The second instruction of this leaked mail is that production of new generation Maruti Ertiga LDi base diesel variant has stopped. This will come into effect from 1st April 2019. Maruti Suzuki will only entertain those bookings which were made by 1st March 2019. Those who booked after this date, will have to cancel bookings. Dealers are requested to not accept any fresh bookings of Ertiga LDi variant.
The reason Maruti Gypsy production is stopped, has long been known. The car, which has now been in production for more than 33 years, does not meet upcoming safety norms laid down by the govt of India. The same generation of Maruti Gypsy has been on sale ever since 1985 to 2019.
The reason 2019 Maruti Ertiga base diesel variant production is getting stopped is the fact that Maruti is removing the 1.3 liter diesel engine from company line-up. The 1.3 liter diesel engine is sourced from Fiat. Maruti will replace this engine with their very own 1.5 liter diesel engine in coming weeks.
But as per leaked documents from Motor Vehicles office, the new Maruti Ertiga Diesel 1.5 liter will only be offered with VDi, ZDi and ZDi+. It will not be offered with LDi. Which means, it is the end of LDi variant in the new Maruti Ertiga line-up.
The new 1.5 liter turbo diesel engine will offer 95.1 PS power at 4,000 rpm and 220 Nm torque at 1,500-2,500 rpm. It will be fuel efficient machine, pegged to deliver 26.82 kmpl mileage, while being mated to a 6 speed manual transmission. Compared to the 1.3 liter engine, the 1.5 liter engine will be a little more expensive. This could be the reason behind Maruti Suzuki deciding not to offer the 1.5 liter diesel engine with the base Ertiga diesel.
