Maruti Suzuki announced yesterday that it will discontinue all diesel models by March 2020. According to a report from Financial Express, the company will launch the highly anticipated Vitara Brezza petrol this Diwali.
The Maruti Vitara Brezza is India's best-selling SUV, but being a diesel-only model, it's not living up to its full potential. While the unavailability of a diesel engine in it will be a bummer, the introduction of a petrol engine in it will lower its entry-price and make it accessible to more customers.
Maruti Suzuki wanted to offer the Vitara Brezza with the K10C 1.0-litre BoosterJet petrol engine that produces 75 kW (101.97 PS) and 150 Nm of torque. However, this turbocharged three-cylinder mill imported from Japan proved to be too expensive and the fuel economy delivered by it wasn't good enough. So, the company has decided to go for the K15B 1.5-litre VVT naturally aspirated four-cylinder unit that develops 77 kW (104.69 PS) and 138 Nm of torque. It will offer the dual-battery Progressive Smart Hybrid mild-hybrid system in the petrol engine model.
As for the transmission choices, the 1.5-litre petrol engine will be paired with a 5-speed manual transmission initially. A 4-speed automatic transmission will be introduced as an option later.
ALso read: Maruti Suzuki Baleno diesel and Maruti Baleno RS get a price hike
Diesel models contribute to around 30% sales for Maruti Suzuki, and the Vitara Brezza holds a major share in that. Moving forward, the company will work on expanding its CNG portfolio and introducing a full-hybrid powertrain to cater to customers giving a high priority to running cost.
[Source - FinancialExpress.com]
