Maruti Suzuki Ignis diesel discontinued in India

- Dealers stop taking bookings for the diesel Ignis
- To be limited to a petrol manual and AMT transmission
- Petrol variant accounts for 90% of sales

The country’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has silently discontinued the diesel variant of its premium hatchback, the Ignis in India. The company is yet to officially announce the same, however the dealers have currently stopped accepting bookings for the vehicle. First introduced in January 2017, the vehicle was widely accepted among car buyers as it offered an AMT option in both petrol and diesel engine options.

The Ignis had been averaging around 4,000 unit sales a month since it was first introduced in the country, however in recent times the company has been witnessing a constant drop in sales, especially for the diesel version. Newer options in the form of the Ford Freestyle, the new Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Dzire have further widened options for potential buyers. Moreover, given that the Ignis is offered as a Nexa product, the base diesel variant with a manual transmission costs a little over Rs 7 lakhs inclusive of taxes and registration. Thus, considering such a steep pricing for a diesel small car, customers have preferred opting for the petrol variant with AMT transmission.

Diesels have not been a popular choice in the small car segment and petrol variants have been overall contributors. The diesel version is powered by a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder engine that generates 74bhp of power at 4,000rpm and 190Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. The petrol version is powered by a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine which develops 82bhp at 6,000rpm and 113Nm of torque at 4,200rpm.