Mahindra to discontinue KUV100 NXT's diesel engine - Report

08/05/2019 - 10:53 Mahindra KUV100, Mahindra Prashant Singh

A new report says that Mahindra may discontinue its 1.2L diesel before the BS-VI emission norms become effective (1 April 2020). Tata Motors is also going to discontinue its 1.2L diesel engine the same way, while Maruti Suzuki has announced the discontinuation of all its diesel engines.

Mahindra KUV100 NXT Silver & Black front three quarters right side — Mahindra KUV 100 NXT comes with two engines options - 1.2-litre petrol and 1.2-litre diesel. The latter will be phased out due to the high BS-VI upgrade costs.

In addition to a 1.2-litre diesel engine, Mahindra uses 1.5-litre, 2.0 litre and 2.2-litre diesel engines for its passenger vehicles. For now, the BS-VI upgrade is being reported to be doubtful for only the smallest unit. The 1.2-litre diesel engine is the mFalcon D75 turbocharged three-cylinder unit that is offered in the KUV100 NXT. It produces 57.4 kW (78.04 PS) of maximum power at 3750 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque at 1750-2250 rpm. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard with this engine.

BS-VI upgrade is very expensive for diesel engines generally, and on the top of that, Mahindra offers the 1.2L mFalcon D75 engine in only one model, which is not very popular in the market. So, the upgrade costs are very high and the sales volume isn't enough to justify them. The company's line-up is predominantly diesel right now. However, with the advent of BS-VI emission norms, it plans to offer a petrol engine option in all the models, except the Bolero. As for the KUV100 NXT, it's already available with a petrol engine, the 1.2L mFalcon G80 naturally aspirated three-cylinder unit that develops 61 kW (81.94 PS) and 115 Nm of torque.