Bucking The Trend: Diesel Cars May Go Up In Smoke But How Will That Curb Pollution?

Last month, Maruti Suzuki, ­India’s largest carmaker, drop­ped a bombshell in the market. It ­announced that it will stop making small diesel cars from next year. ­Immediately, it puts a big question mark on the future of the company’s bestsellers—diesel-only cars like the Brezza and the S-Cross.

The company’s announcement of not upgrading its small diesel cars to BS6 norms—which means a complete drop out of the segment from April 2020—came as a surprise to the automobile ind­ustry. At its peak in 2016-17, diesel cars accounted for 31 per cent of Maruti Suzuki’s sales, which have since then dipped to 26 per cent.  Maruti Suzuki reg­istered its highest ever sales of 18.62 lakh units in 2018-19 as against 17.79 lakh units the previous year.

Announcing the decision to not upg­rade the company’s small diesel car range to BS6 norms, R.C. Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limi­ted, had exp­lained that “upgrading small diesel eng­ines to BS6 emission regulations...