Rumour: Maruti looking at 6-speed gearboxes in a big way

According to a media report, Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to introduce a 6-speed gearbox in its vehicles later this year. The transmission has been codenamed MF30. 

The report claims that Maruti is planning to build 50,000 units of the 6-speed gearbox in the first year of its production. However, it is estimated that the demand for the gearbox will rise to 4,00,000 units per year by 2020.

It has been reported that the first car likely to receive the new transmission is the new Swift, which is currently equipped with a 5-speed gearbox. At present, Maruti's entire model range comes with a 5-speed transmission. With the 6-speed gearbox, Maruti will hope to improve the overall performance of its vehicles. Click here to read about the advantages and disadvantages of a 6-speed transmission. 

It may be noted that other car companies including Hyundai, Jeep, Mahindra, Renault and Tata are offering 6-speed transmissions in many of their vehicles already. Initially, Maruti used to sell the S-Cross with a 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine paired with a 6-speed gearbox. This engine and gearbox combination was discontinued and at present, the car comes with a 1.3-litre diesel engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox only.

Maruti Suzuki has not made any official announcement about this development. 

Source: Moneycontrol