Maruti Celerio diesel dealer dispatch starts this month, launch by June - Report

05/05/2015 - 11:08 Maruti Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Anjan Ravi

Powered by Suzuki's first self-developed diesel engine.

According to a report on TeamBHP, Maruti will start dealer dispatch of the Celerio diesel this month, and a market launch will take place towards the end of this month, or in the early part of June. A previous report said that production of the small diesel car had already commenced at Maruti's Manesar plant.

Suzuki Celerio front at 2015 Geneva Motor Show — The Celerio diesel when launched will be India's most fuel efficient diesel passenger vehicle.

Power for the Celerio diesel will come from Suzuki's first self-developed diesel engine, which is reported to be a 0.8-liter twin-cylinder unit, matched to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki, said that this engine will deliver "closer to 30 km/l".

Maruti will be manufacturing 100,000 units of this diesel engine in the first year before expanding production capacity, or even application to other small passenger vehicles. However, the Tata Ace rivaling LCV, codenamed 'Y9T', is expected to borrow this engine.

2015 Suzuki Celerio interior — Initially, an AMT may not be offered on the Celerio diesel.

Also read: Maruti Alto retains title of India's best selling car in FY15

Similar to the petrol model, the diesel Celerio will come in variants of LDi, VDi and ZDi, though an automated manual transmission is not expected to be offered, at least in the beginning.

Rivals: Chevrolet Beat Diesel, Hyundai Grand i10
Expected Price: INR 4.6-5.7 Lakhs.
Tentative Launch Date: Next month (reported)

[Source: TeamBHP]