First diesel car from Maruti stable by year-end

Bangalore, July 21 (UNI) The first diesel car from the country's leading car maker Maruti Udyog Limited will be rolled out by this year-end, Company Managing Director Jagdish Khattar said today.

Talking to newspersons here, he said the 1.3 litre car would have an all new diesel engine, being developed by Suzuki. Among the brands, its latest sensation Swift would have a diesel variant.

Mr Khattar was here in connection with the unveiling of an all new WagonR, which had undergone major changes in both exterior and interior to keep in tune with the changing customer desire. The new WagonR was ten per cent more fuel efficient.

WagonR was also coming out with a duo model, which had a factory fitted LPG kit. Using LPG the running cost of the vehicle would be 33 per cent less than the normal petrol version. The LPG kit fitted to the WagonR Duo had been approved by the Department of Explosives and certified by the Automotive Research Association of India. The project for upgrading the vehicle was completed in 18 months, he said.

Mr Khattar said ''WagonR has a large set of loyal customers who like it for its space, comfortable ride, superior technology and refined engine.'' The concern about the boxy and flat look of the vehicle had been given a go by with trimmings that had made it more appealing.

He said the three-year Rs 6,000 crore investment, which included expansion and an all new diesel engine plant, would end by the year-end.

On the Nissan proposal to make Maruti the hub of export for its compact cars, he said talks were on. It would take atleast two and a half to three years for the exports to materialise. ''We are talking about huge numbers,'' he said, without divulging the numbers.

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