Maruti Suzuki is set to launch the 2018 Ciaz facelift in India on 6 August 2018. The Ciaz facelift will be the first Maruti Suzuki product to get the new K15B 1.5-litre petrol engine. This engine will come paired with Suzuki’s SHVS tech, making the Ciaz the first petrol mild-hybrid model from Maruti. And now, reliable sources have informed us that Maruti Suzuki is planning to launch the 2018 Ciaz with this powertrain only and not with a diesel engine initially.
Only the petrol-powered mild-hybrid Ciaz facelift will reach Maruti's Nexa chain of dealerships by 10 August 2018. Sources in the know tell us that Maruti will not even announce prices of the diesel model at the launch of the Ciaz facelift in August.
Sales of diesel-powered sedans priced around Rs 10 lakh have dropped in the recent past and the decline has been significant for the Ciaz. While it once enjoyed a 60:40 petrol:diesel sales ratio, it dropped to 80:20 last year when the Government rolled back the duty concession on hybrids and the diesel Ciaz’ prices went up. Even the latest entrant in the segment, the Toyota Yaris, doesn’t come with a diesel engine option.
Nonetheless, the diesel-powered Ciaz won’t be discontinued altogether. The confirmation comes from Maruti Suzuki’s senior executive director of marketing & sales, RS Kalsi. When asked whether Maruti Suzuki plans to discontinue the diesel Ciaz, he said, “No, we don’t plan to discontinue because there are customers who are hardcore diesel lovers as well and diesel certainly has its own advantages of higher fuel efficiency, higher calorific value, more power. So we’ll continue with the diesel engine.”
The current Ciaz is powered by the 1.3-litre DDiS200 diesel engine that also powers the S-Cross. The diesel engine is paired with SHVS tech and is available with manual transmission only. The 2018 Ciaz facelift powered by the same diesel engine will be launched before Diwali 2018.
Source: cardekho.com
