The Indian major Automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited is all set to launch Maruti Alto and Maruti Wagon R with the new KB-series engine presently coming in Maruti Estilo, Maruti Ritz and Maruti A-Star. Maruti Alto and Maruti Wagon R are the two largest selling models from Maruti Suzuki are very particular. The BS IV norms will be satisfied by the new KB series engine that is to be installed in new version of Wagon R and Alto. The company will discontinue the production of the FBD engine currently coming and will put the K-series engine instead, as the FBD engine is not Bharat Stage IV complaint.
11 cities in India are ready to switch to the BS IV norms from BS III norms and consequently Maruti is ready to face the change. It has already upgraded its mid-sized sedan SX4 to make it BS IV compatible and it will be shortly launched in the market. A similar upgradation for premium compact car Swift and entry-level sedan DZire with New K12M has already been done but the company has decided not to upgrade its oldest model M800 to meet the new emission norms.
During an encounter with a spokesperson from MSI, the spokesperson said “the successful K series engines will be mounted on more models in a phased manner,” without putting any light on the specifications of the engine and the timeline for the change in engines. The company has ordered the engines specifically a two cylinder for Alto and a three cylinder for Wagon R which will be available before the year ends. Interestingly the step has been taken before time comes for the Globally appreciated car brands like Volkswagen, Nissan, Toyota and Honda to enter Indian market with their small cars, while the other brands like GM, Ford are already competing for their share in the market.
Maruti is to face Honda’s NSC (small car), Ford’s Figo, Fiat’s CNG variant Punto, Hyundai’s Santro(cheaper variant). Chevrolet UV-A, Skoda Fabia, Chevrolet Beat and Spark electric car (e-spark) are already set to give Maruti a run for their money.
Updated on 23 April 2010
New Maruti Wagon R Official Launch – Specifications, Features And Price On-Road Price In India
Updated on 22 July 2010
Here are some Scoop Pictures of the new Alto due for launch in August 2010 –
New Maruti Alto 1 Litre Engine Scoop Pictures
