In an attempt to improve the air quality in Delhi and surrounding areas, the Supreme court recently ordered a ban on the registration of new diesel cars and SUVs with engine capacities above 2000 cc. This ban will be enforced till March 31st, 2016. Keeping in mind the alarming levels of pollution Delhi NCR is currently battling with, the Delhi diesel car ban could offer some respite from the degrading air quality and could even be extended beyond March 31st. Most of the vehicles falling under the 2000 cc or above category belong to the premium segment, which includes manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc. Mahindra & Mahindra, which sells only many popular Diesel vehicles, faced the heat due to the 2.2-litre displacement of the Scorpio’s and XUV500‘s engine. Now, however, the manufacturer has e-launchrf the Scorpio and the XUV500 with a downsized 1.99-litres motor. The Mahindra Scorpio 1.99-Litre engine variant has been priced between Rs. 9.67 Lakhs – Rs. 12.75 Lakhs. The Mahindra XUV 500 1.99-Litre variant has been priced between Rs. 11.58 Lakhs – Rs. 15.51 Lakhs (All prices are Ex-Showroom, New Delhi).
Mahindra XUV500 & Scoprio – New 1.99-Litre MHawk Engine
The new diesel engine for the XUV500 and the Scorpio becomes the latest member of the MHawk family of engines from Mahindra. Basically a downsized version of the mHawk 2.2-litre engine that earlier powered these SUVs, this 1.990litre motor belts out a max. power-torque of 120 bhp-280 Nm for the Scorpio and 140 bhp-320 Nm for the XUV500. While the engine comes mated to a 5-speed manual transmission for the Scorpio, the XUV500 gets a 6-Speed Manual gearbox. Mahindra is yet to launch this engine with the 4wd configuration.
Talking on the launch of the new engines, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), Mahindra & Mahindra said, “This new engine, the development of which started in August 2014, is now ready for launch on both the New Generation Scorpio and the New Age XUV500. We do hope that our customers would enjoy driving these vehicles which deliver the performance of our currently on offer 2.2 litre mHawk engines”.
Mahindra XUV500 & Scoprio 1.99-Litre Variant’s Price
Here’s a list of the other popular models that are affected by the ban on registration of new diesel vehicles above 2000 cc in Delhi NCR –
- Toyota: Fortuner, Innova
- Mahindra: Scorpio (Passed), XUV500 (Passed), Bolero
- Tata: Safari, Sumo
- Mitsubishi: Pajero Sport
- Mercedes-Benz: A-Class, B-Class, C, E, GL, GLA, GLE, S-Class
- Hyundai: Santa Fe
- Ford: Endeavour
- BMW: 5-sereis, 6-series, X3, X5, X6
- Audi: A8, Q5, Q7
- Chevrolet Trailblazer
- Land Rover: All Models
It has also emerged that Mahindra’s new mFALCON series of engines will also get as many as two new new sub-2000cc diesel engines to power many upcoming cars from Mahindra and Mahindra. The smallest engines in the mFALCON Series displace 1.2-litre each and while one of these is a Petrol motor, the other one is an oil burner. Both these motors are available on the newly introduced KUV100.
While the ban will continue to affect some very popular diesel models like the Toyota Innova, Toyota Fortuner, etc., the vehicles not affected by the ban, such as the Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, TUV300, have been the majority contributors to the total diesel car sales in the Delhi NCR region. Judging the effectiveness of such a ban will only be possible over the coming months. The NGT (National Green Tribunal) has also called for the ban on sales and registration of ALL diesel vehicles in Delhi till January 6th, 2016.
Please feel free to express your views on the Delhi Diesel Car ban and stay tuned to Car Blog India for more updates on the same.
