Maruti Suzuki has decided to bring the curtains down on diesel vehicles from its stables beginning next fiscal. The company, which is the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, will thus be the first company to go completely non-diesel with the Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission norms kicking in from April 1, 2020.

All models with diesel engines less than 1.5 litres will be phased out, Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava said on Thursday. “In small cars, the cost of upgrading diesel engines to BS VI standards will be substantial.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Thursday said it has increased prices of Baleno diesel range and RS petrol variant by up to Rs 15,000 (ex-showroom) with immediate effect.

The Baleno RS, which comes with a 1 litre booster jet petrol engine, will now be available at Rs 8.88 lakh, MSI said in a regulatory filing. It was earlier priced at Rs 8.76 lakh.

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday rolled out the new Alto variant with a BS-VI compliant engine and enhanced safety and design features, priced in the range of Rs 2.94 lakh to Rs 3.72 lakh. The vehicle is costlier by around Rs 16,000-21,000 compared to the outgoing model.

Alto retained its crown as the best-selling passenger vehicle for the 15th consecutive year in FY19. Maruti Suzuki sold 259,401 units of Alto in 2019 fiscal year. This will be the second model by Maruti to be launched with a BS-VI engine. The company on Monday launched the updated version of its premium hatchback Baleno with BS-VI petrol engine.

Maruti Suzuki has increased the price of its compact hatchback Baleno in the range of `13,000-20,000, after updating the vehicle with a BS-VI compliant petrol engine.

Volumes of Baleno grew 11% in 2018-19 and has a market share of over 27% in the compact hatchback segment, comprising vehicles like Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo and Ford Figo.

Maruti Suzuki has started lowering discounts on several models to drive up sales before it phases out the practice later this year. Dealers FE spoke to said discounts on popular models such as Alto and Dzire were trimmed from Rs 60,000 earlier to Rs 40,000 in April. The discounts would be further lowered and fully phased out by around August or September.

Similarly, discounts on compact SUV Brezza and premium hatchback Swift have been cut this month by around Rs15,000-Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000, respectively.

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday reported 1.6 per cent decline in sales at 1,58,076 units in March.

The company had sold 1,60,598 units in March last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

The Board of Maruti Suzuki has approved plans to source hybrid technology from Toyota for developing future products under a business partnership signed by both the companies. Further the board also approved the reappointment of managing director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa for a further period of three years with effect from April, 1, 2019.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) dipped 4 per cent to Rs 6,780 on the BSE in early morning trade in an otherwise strong market, on reports of production cut due to slower demand.

“A slowing demand in India’s passenger vehicle market has prompted the car market leader, Maruti Suzuki India, to cut production by a quarter over March last year,” the Business Standard reported quoting people aware of the company’s plans.

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Wednesday launched two CNG variants of its newly launched hatchback WagonR priced at ₹4.84 lakh and ₹4.89 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The factory fitted WagonR S-CNG will be available in Lxi and Lxi(O) variants powered by 1 litre engine and priced at ₹4.84 lakh and ₹4.89 lakh, respectively, the company said in a statement.

Continuing the muted demand trend, sales of passenger vehicles in February for market leader Maruti Suzuki grew by marginal 0.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 1,36,912 units.

While passenger vehicles sales in the April-June quarter had clocked a 20% y-o-y growth, the trend has reversed since then. Post the September quarter results, Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava had pointed out that the festive season was a dull one.

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