The most awaited Maruti SX4 diesel is here at last. Today, 22nd February 2011, the official launch of SX4 diesel took place in New Delhi. Shinzo Nakanishi, the chief executive and Managing director of Maruti Suzuki said, “The usage of diesel vehicles has gone up substantially due to the need to travel farther. We were asked many times when are we going to launch the diesel variants of SX4 and now it's here.”
Nakanishi also added that the diesel engine of SX4 is more powerful and comes with superior technology that gives distinctive performance with better fuel efficiency. According to him, it can give a mileage of 21.5 km per liter.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Suzuki Powertrain India Limited are producing the diesel engine of this mid-sized sedan. The company officially announced in a statement, “The engine will be manufactured at Suzuki Powertrain India Limited, which manufactures diesel engines for Swift, Dzire and Ritz and has an annual capacity of 300,000 units.”
Maruti Suzuki SX4 diesel models are available in two variants, VDi and ZDi, which come with price tags of 7.74 lakhs and 8.62 lakhs respectively (ex-showroom prices New Delhi).
One of the unique features of the SX4 diesel is that it comes with On-Board Diagnostics System (OBD-2), which helps to detect the flow of emission levels in the emission control system.
Each month, Maruti is selling 1500 to 1600 SX4 petrol and CNG units, and do far the company has sold 75,000 units since its launch. By launching the SX4 diesel model in India, Maruti believes that it will increase company’s market share in mid-sized diesel sedan segment.
