With the Maruti Suzuki India’s chairman saying that the best time to buy a diesel car is 2019, the next bit of information comes from the president of passenger vehicles division of Tata Motors -- Mayank Pareek. The top honcho just stated that the soon to be enforced BS-VI (Bharat Stage 6) emission norms will make the diesel powered smaller cars in the market markedly expensive. The top industry person also added that the rise in prices will also mean that the sales of the small cars with diesel engines will take a hit.
The top Tata official said the following,
The introduction of BS-VI will make the compliance expensive, particularly for small diesel cars. Given that these high costs will ultimately have to be passed on to the end customer, the sale of diesel vehicles will logically see a decline in the industry. We feel that low demand for the entry and mid-size diesel models will not justify the high costs involved in developing a new small capacity engine. Around 80% of the demand in the entry and midsize segment is for the petrol variants and thus the additional investment required does not seem viable”
The upcoming BS-VI emission norms have already seen the largest car maker of India announcing that the company will no longer produce diesel engine cars post the BS-Vi deadline. Maruti Suzuki had earlier stated that the production of diesel powered cars will hinge on the demand of the customers for diesel vehicles once the new emission norms are in place. Now Tata official’s statement hints at the fact that the other players in the Indian market may go the Maruti way and stop production of diesel engine cars after the new BS-VI rules are in place, at least initially. Pareek also stated that the Indian maker is in “a silent period” over the diesel engine decision as of now.
Tata Motors has a long model line-up in India and all of the cars from the company are offered with diesel engine options. Even the fleet cars that Tata sells come with diesel engine in them. Not to mention that the smallest diesel car that Tata sells in the market is the entry level hatchback Tiago. The recently launched Harrier compact SUV comes only with a diesel engine, though a petrol model is supposed to be launch in the coming time. As of now information remains scant, however Tata may take the petrol only approach with its smaller cars and may offer bigger diesel engines with cars above the sub-4 meter compact SUV segment. However, only time will tell the exact strategy of the brand.