Maruti Suzuki Swift, Dzire Could Get New Engine With 35km/l Mileage: End Of CNG Era?

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Maruti Suzuki Swift, Dzire Could Get New Engine With 35km/l Mileage

The strict BS-6 emission norms rang a death knell for Maruti Suzuki's diesel engine-powered vehicles in India. Maruti Suzuki then focussed on improving the fuel efficiency of its existing petrol engines to lure customers looking for maximum fuel efficiency. It also introduced CNG in more models in its lineup as a stop-gap solution.

 

Now, after tasting success with its Grand Vitara fully hybrid SUV, Maruti is mulling over the hybrid technology for its smaller vehicles for offering more fuel savings. As per a report by Autocar India, the next-generation Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Dzire could be powered by a fully hybrid powertrain capable of delivering more than 35km/l fuel efficiency. Does it mean that Maruti Suzuki will scrap the CNG variants with its arrival? Let's try to understand.

 

Is Hybrid The New Diesel For Maruti?

Maruti Suzuki Swift, Dzire Could Get New Engine With 35km/l Mileage

The report suggests that the new Swift and the Dzire with codename YED could get an all-new 1.2-liter petrol engine (codenamed Z12E). This will be a three-cylinder unit combined with an electric motor as opposed to the four-cylinder K12C engine currently on offer. Similar to the Grand Vitara Hybrid, this engine will utilize Toyota's hybrid technology to deliver maximum fuel efficiency.

As per Autocar, the new generation Maruti Suzuki Swift and Dzire will be the most fuel-efficient cars in the company's lineup with an ARAI-rated fuel economy between 35-40km/l. This would be even higher than the discontinued Swift diesel's claim of 28.4km/l.

With the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Hybrid fuel efficiency rated at 27.97km/l, there's a possibility that the Swift may extract higher mileage owing to its lower kerb weight. Suffice to say, it could fill the void left by the diesel models for Maruti. Also, with the CNG prices catching up with petrol rates, Maruti-Suzuki might not offer the generation Swift and Dzire in the CNG guise at all.

Will The Swift/ Dzire Hybrid Models Be Expensive?

Maruti-Suzuki could use a heavily localized 1.2-liter hybrid powertrain for its new generation Swift and Dzire, which will allow the company to save import duties. The current price difference between the Grand Vitara's mild-hybrid model and the strong hybrid model is around ₹2.6 lakhs. However, the price difference between the pure petrol and hybrid models of the Toyota Hyryder, which is essentially a Grand Vitara underneath, is around ₹2 lakhs.

We can expect Maruti to price the new Swift/Dzire hybrids at a premium of about ₹1.5 lakhs over the pure petrol counterparts. All the more reason for Maruti to phase out the CNG variants, which cost about ₹1 lakh more than the petrol models. It would make more sense for buyers to opt for the hybrid models by shelling out a premium of just ₹50,000. The new Swift/ Dzire are expected to launch in 2023, while the hybrid variants could follow later.

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