The leading automaker of passenger cars in India, Maruti Suzuki, completely stopped selling its diesel versions there. Beginning in March 2023, Honda Cars India will no longer produce or export any 1.6L diesel automobiles. A smaller selection of diesel products is now available from automakers like Skoda, Volkswagen, Nissan, and Renault. Unlike petrol engines, diesel motors have several difficulties, including high costs and the need to upgrade to meet current pollution requirements. And for this reason, automakers are pulling their diesel cars from the market.
Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, two domestic automakers, continue to favour diesel vehicles. In actuality, the sales of the Mahindra Scorpio diesel account for 75% of the total. The diesel versions of the Mahindra XUV700 and Thar SUVs account for almost two-thirds of sales. Similar to Tata Motors, only diesel engines are offered for the Harrier and Safari SUVs.
Mahindra offers a 2.0L turbo petrol and a 2.2L mHawk diesel engine for the XUV700 that produce 200bhp and 380Nm and 115bhp with 360Nm/185bhp with 420Nm/450Nm, respectively. While a 132bhp power the new Scorpio Classic, a 2.2L diesel engine, the new Scorpio N offers 2.0L turbo petrol and 2.2L diesel engine options. With the 2.0L petrol (152bhp/300Nm) and 2.2L turbo diesel (132bhp/300Nm) engines, the new-generation Mahindra Thar is available.
A manual or automatic transmission is available with the 170bhp, 2.0L diesel engine that powers the Tata Harrier and Safari SUVs. Both models are expected to receive mid-life modifications around early 2023. The automaker will likely add an updated infotainment system, a 360-degree surround-view camera, and the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) to SUVs. The infotainment system in the SUVs will be more extensive than previously, and it may allow wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. There will probably be a slight price increase for the Tata Harrier and Safari facelifts in 2023.
