Fiat 1.3-litre Multijet Diesel Engine to Discontinue In India By 2020

2016 Maruti Suzuki Baleno engine photos

Fiat’s 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine is used by several Maruti and Tata cars; both the brands developing their own motors right now

As Indian auto industry is advancing towards BS-VI emission norm that is scheduled to be implemented across the country from April 2020, Fiat’s 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine is nearing towards its discontinuation here. The Italian brand has no plan to upgrade this engine and it will be discontinued in the country by 2020.

Fiat’s 1.3-litre diesel motor is one of the most popular and vehemently used oil burners in India as Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors use this unit in several cars. Now, both the homegrown automakers are developing their own diesel engines. As we already reported, Maruti Suzuki is testing its in-house 1.5-litre diesel engine that will debut around mid-2018.

Maruti Ciaz Hybrid SHVS launched-6

Also read: Maruti To Introduce 1.5-Litre Diesel Engine By Mid-2018

Initially, this new, larger and more powerful diesel engine will be introduced to the cars like Ciaz, Ertiga, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza. Interestingly, all these cars currently use the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre motor. Apart from that, the 1.3-litre engine also works in Ignis, Baleno and Swift. Fiat too uses this engine in its India-spec models like Linea, Punto, Avventura etc. With the stricter BS-VI emission norm implemented, Fiat will have to change its strategy as well.

Speaking about Tata Motors, the auto major already introduced the 1.05-litre Revotorq diesel engine in Tiago and there is a larger 1.5-litre diesel motor ready to be launched with the Tata Nexon. The 1.3-litre motor is currently available under the hood of Vista, Zest, Bolt. Expect the engine to be replaced before the new emission norm is implemented.

Tata-Zest-Front-side

Also read: Exclusive: 2017 Maruti S-Cross To Be Launched In 90 PS Diesel Hybrid Only

With the end of the 1.3-litre Multijet engine’s dominance in India Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors will stop paying a huge royalty to FCA. Expect this amount of money to be used in new product development. Overall, the 1.3-litre diesel engine has played a crucial role for quite long time in the Indian auto market and the credit largely goes to Maruti Suzuki. With the end of its lifespan here, it will be the end of an era.

Source: Autocar India