Maruti Suzuki to import 1.6 liter Fiat Multijet diesel motor?

Maruti Suzuki's Japanese parent, Suzuki, is developing a new range of turbo diesel engines with capacities ranging between 800 cc and 1.6 liters. These new engines will be ready in 2015 and beyond. Until then Maruti Suzuki will dig into Fiat's Multijet turbo diesel engine line up. Maruti Suzuki is said to be readying up the 2014 Sx4 crossover for an Indian launch in early 2015. The new SX4, which features the 1.3 liter and 1.6 liter Fiat Multijet turbo diesel engines internationally, is likely to use the 1.6 liter Multijet diesel engine. 

Since Maruti Suzuki manufactures only the 1.3 liter Multijet diesel engine in India, the car maker is expected to import the 1.6 liter version of the Multijet diesel engine for use in the SX4 crossover. The import of the 1.6 Multijet diesel engine could be a stop gap arrangement for Maruti Suzuki, until the arrival of Suzuki's homegrown turbo diesel engines. According to the FinancialExpress, the 1.6 liter turbo diesel engine that Maruti Suzuki imports could be used on other Maruti cars as well. 

Also, Maruti Suzuki could locally manufacture the 1.6 liter Fiat Multijet turbo diesel engine if volumes justify such a measure. Meanwhile, there seems to be a rejig in Maruti Suzuki's SUV plans. The XA-Alpha based sub-4 meter compact SUV might not reach the Indian car market before 2016, a timeline that represents a near one year delay for this much anticipated product. To keep the SUV segment warm until the XA-Alpha arrives, Maruti Suzuki is likely to launch the SX4 crossover in early 2015. 

Maruti Suzuki is also said to be mulling another SUV, to be positioned above the SX4 crossover, but below the Grand Vitara in India. That SUV will be based on the Suzuki iV4 concept and is likely to debut in 2017. Therefore, by 2017 Maruti Suzuki would have no less than 3 SUVs operating in the Indian car market in the form of the SX4 Crossover, and the production versions of the XA-Alpha and the iV4 SUVs. Mr Kenichi Ayukawa, the managing director of Maruti Suzuki, has ruled out SUV launches in 2014.