Monday, August 22, 2011
By Pranjal Gera
Maruti to source diesel engines manufactured by Fiat
In a bid to keep-up with the skyrocketing demand for the diesel variants of its cars, country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is planning to source diesel engines from the Indian unit of Italian car maker Fiat. At present, Maruti Suzuki sources diesel engine technology from Fiat and manufactures these engines at its own facility.
In recent months, the demand for diesel run cars has surged unprecedentedly in the Indian auto market. The major contributor behind the surge in the sales of diesel run cars is the current gap in the fuel prices. Petrol prices are at 63.70 rupees ($1.4) per liter in New Delhi as compared to diesel price of 41.29 rupees per liter.
Currently, Maruti sources diesel engine technology from Fiat for its cars like Maruti Swift, Maruti Ritz, Maruti Swift Dzire and Maruti SX4. All of these car models are receiving overwhelming response from the buyers in the Indian market.
Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki has launched the new generation version of Swift model in the country. The car is enjoying a massive demand in the Indian market as over 50,000 units of the model were already booked even before its launch in the country. The company has decided to enhance the production of the car to 18,000 units per month from previous figure of 12,000 units. High demand of new Swift has also contributed in forcing the company to source diesel engine manufactured by the Italian car maker Fiat.
