The beloved and the first people’s car – Maruti 800 may not be phased out after all, says the company. Maruti Suzuki India Limited is increasing its headcount in its R&D division to upgrade M800’s engine according to the new BS IV norms that become effective next year. These norms become effective in April next year and the engineers are working round the clock to upgrade its engine and keep the model alive even beyond the official deadline set by the company to phase it out.
“We can do some after-treatment on the engine of the M800 which will help it take on the BS IV norm. The decision of phasing out the car completely lies with our marketing team. If they find it unviable, we will have to stop its (M800’s) production,” said I V Rao, Managing Director, MSIL.
Maruti’s another model, Omni, is also set to be phased out as the company takes a fresh look at the multi-purpose vehicles in its product portfolio. Omni also shares similar 796cc engine with M800 and the company says that its engine will also be fine-tuned to adhere to the new emission norms. Cost of ownership for both the models still remain the lowest in India which enable the company to clock healthy sales every month.
![Maruti Suzuki 800 [2008-2014]](https://imgd-ct.aeplcdn.com/160x89/cw/cars/discontinued/maruti-suzuki/800-2008-2014.jpg?q=80 "Maruti Suzuki 800 [2008-2014]")
