Maruti Suzuki To Switch To BSVI Engines By January 2020

• Maruti to stop production of BSIV cars by December 2019
• All cars made from 2020 to come with BSVI engines
• Diesel cars to bear the maximum brunt post BSVI implementation
• Diesel-petrol price gap to widen by as much as Rs 2.5 lakh post BSVI

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is planning to completely stop production of its BSIV cars and move to BSVI compliant vehicles by January 2020. By doing so, it will be among the first Indian carmakers to do so, ahead of the April 2020 deadline set by the government.

In a press conference held in Delhi recently, the carmaker announced that the move comes in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling which prohibited sales of new BSIV cars post 1 April, 2020. In effect, the carmaker will stop production of all BSIV cars by December 2019.

The leapfrog from BSIV to BSVI is probably the biggest transition that the Indian automotive industry is going through and with over 50 per cent of market share and over 16 models in its portfolio, it’s also the most challenging one for Maruti Suzuki.

With an estimated budget of nearly $1.5 billion (Rs 1.05 lakh crore) from parent Suzuki Motor Co, the carmaker is reportedly working 'overtime' to make over 40 variants of powertrains across a total of 16 models meet stricter BSVI emission norms.

And while it is significantly easier to convert petrol engines from BSIV to BSVI, the same cannot be said about diesel powertrains. According to the chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, R C Bhargava, the shift to BSVI on diesel powertrains requires a complete overhaul with additions of DPF (diesel particulate filters), SCR (selective catalytic reduction), LNT (Lean NOx trap) and other emission control equipment to diesel engines.

This could lead to a significant bump up in prices of diesel cars by around Rs 1.0 lakh - Rs 1.5 lakh, further widening the gap between diesel and petrol cars to nearly Rs 2.5 lakh, Bhargava explained. Not only could this lead to the elimination of new diesel models at the lower end of the spectrum, but it would also propel the adoption of hybrids and electric vehicles going forward.

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