New Delhi: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) will discontinue sale of diesel cars in the country from April next year, coinciding with the transition of the automobile industry to stricter BS VI emission norms, a top company official said. The auto major currently gets 23 pc of its total sales in the domestic market from diesel cars. It sold a total of 4.63 L diesel units last fiscal.
Some of the company’s models like Vitara Brezza and S-Cross currently come with a diesel engine option only. Others like Swift, Baleno, Dzire, Ciaz and Ertiga also have petrol versions in addition to the diesel trims.
MSI has also decided to pull the plug on the diesel version of its light commercial vehicle Super Carry from next year. It would be only available in petrol/CNG version going ahead.
“From April 1, 2020, we will not be selling diesel cars,” MSI Chairman RC Bhargava told reporters. He, however, added that if there is a demand for BS VI diesel cars the company might go ahead and develop a model. Bhargava said the company would not go below 1,500 cc diesel engine going ahead.
“The only area which looks in our range of products possible is somewhere around 1,500 cc engine. So if we come back in diesel it will be that range,” he added. Small diesel cars would see the maximum impact in terms of pricing with the coming of BS VI compliant engines.
Q4 net profit dips 4.6 pc to Rs 1,795.6 cr
MSI reported a 4.6 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 1,795.6 crore for the fourth quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,882.1 crore in the January-March period of 2017-18.
Net sales during the quarter rose to Rs 20,737.5 crore, up marginally over the year-ago period. Total car sales dips marginally to 4,58,479 units during the quarter under review, the company said.
For the entire 2018-19 fiscal, MSI posted a net profit of Rs 7,500.6 crore, down 2.9 per cent from the previous fiscal. Total volume sales during 2018-19 were up 4.7 per cent to 18,62,449 units. Of this, 1,08,749 units were exported, the company said.
Rs 4,500 cr capex for current fiscal
MSI said it has earmarked a capex of Rs 4,500 crore for the current fiscal. The investment will go into various initiatives, including new product development, R&D and land acquisition for sales network, MSI CFO Ajay Seth told reporters. MSI had earmarked a capex of Rs 4,000 crore for 2018-19.
