Maruti to phase out all diesel cars from April next year

Vartha Bharati | 25-04-2019 | 18:47:00 IST

Maruti Suzuki garners nearly 23% of its annual sales from diesel cars
The carmaker also today announced a hike in prices of some of its models

Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest vehicle manufacturer, today announced that it will stop manufacturing diesel vehicles from April 1, 2020 when the new BS 6 emission norms will be introduced. The high cost of upgrading existing diesel engines to the BS 6 norms propelled the company to take such a decision.

The company will try to focus on compressed natural gas (CNG) and hybrid technology driven vehicles to compensate the vacuum created by the phasing-out of diesel vehicles.

Mint was the first to report on Feb 14, 2019 that Maruti was in talks with its parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation for discontinuation of diesel vehicles from 2020.

According to R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, from April next year the company will stop manufacturing diesel vehicles since substantially higher development cost will not make diesel a viable option for consumers.

“We have taken this decision so that in 2022 we are able to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency norms and higher share of CNG vehicles will help us comply with the norms. I hope the union government’s policies will help grow the market for CNG vehicles," added Bhargava.

Apart from that, the company reported a 4.6% year-on-year decline in net profit to ₹1,795 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2018 as a result of high commodity and forex costs and increased discounts offered by the company to attract buyers since vehicle sales remain subdued.

The total vehicle sales of the company increased by just 0.4% year-on-year to 4,28,863 units while the net sales or revenue dropped by 0.7% year on year to 20,737.5 crore. The operating margins contracted by 300 basis points due to increase in commodity cost and discounts.

In the full year FY 19, the New Delhi-based company reported 2.9% decease in net profit to ₹7,500.6 crore while the revenues grew by just 6.3% to ₹8,3026.5 crore.

According to Ajay Seth, Maruti's executive director, Finance, overall increased discounts offered to customers and commodity costs had an adverse impact on the financials of the company in FY 19 and the company will cut costs in different part of its operations to stabilise the operating margins in FY 2020.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.

Comments

comments powered by Disqus.

Three arrested for throwing egg on BJP MLA Munirathna in Bengaluru

25-12-2024 ¦ 25-12-2024 IST

BJP MLA Munirathna

Bengaluru, Dec 25: Three people were arrested for throwing an egg at BJP MLA Munirathna during an event here on Wednesday, police said.

The MLA was participating in an event to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Nandini Layout in the city when miscreants threw an egg at him, a police officer said.

The MLA accused Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, his brother and former MP D K Suresh, and their confidantes of "orchestrating" the attack.

"This was an attempt to kill me. Nearly 150 people were brought in to finish me. I would have been killed if my supporters and policemen were not present. D K Shivakumar, D K Suresh, Hanumantharayappa, and some others were involved," Munirathna alleged.

Shivakumar, who was in Belagavi, rejected the allegation, saying he was busy preparing for the centenary celebrations of the 1924 Indian National Congress session, which was presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

Suresh also dismissed the charge, claiming that Munirathna was "threatening" Congress workers in his area.

He alleged that the MLA had staged the attack to divert public attention from the issue.

Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara confirmed the arrests. "Three people have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing to identify who they are and why they did it," he told reporters.

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra condemned the attack.

"Such an attack is not just an insult to Munirathna, but the entire state. Just because you (Congress) are in power, you are attacking people. An attack on a public representative is highly condemnable," Vijayendra told reporters.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and former Minister C T Ravi also condemned the incident.

Munirathna, who is facing several police cases, including a rape case, was recently released on bail.

Egged in #Bengaluru #BJP MLA (Rajarajeshwarinagar) Munirathna, who is out on bail in a rape case, was struck on his head with an egg near Kanteerava Studio in the northern part of the city. He blamed his political detractors for the attack. pic.twitter.com/wcLoKVXaKr
— TOI Bengaluru (@TOIBengaluru) December 25, 2024

Get all the latest, breaking news from Karnataka in a single click. CLICK HERE to get all the latest news from Karnataka.

All Stories

Congress terms NHRC chief selection process as “fundamentally flawed”

The Congress party has criticised the process for selecting the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson, describing it as “fundamentally flawed.” The dissenting remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu appointed Justice V. Ramasubramanian, a former Supreme Court judge, as the NHRC chairperson.

50,000 trishuls distributed by VHP in Delhi ahead of Assembly Elections: Report

As Delhi gears up for the much-anticipated Assembly elections scheduled for February next year, political parties have intensified their campaign strategies. Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has reportedly planned a large-scale distribution of trishuls (tridents) in the national capital. According to The Wire, the organisation has already distributed around 7,000–8,000 trishuls and aims to distribute over 50,000 before the elections. However, the VHP has denied any link between the distribution of trishuls and the elections.

Bethlehem celebrates a quiet Christmas amid Israeli attacks on Gaza

Bethlehem, the city in the occupied West Bank believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, marked another somber Christmas amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. For the second consecutive year, the town's usual festive cheer was absent, with no lights, decorations, or tourists in the central Manger Square. Bethlehem's mayor, Anton Salman, said the town had “limited its joy” in solidarity with those suffering in Gaza.