After Mahindra, could Tata be the next car maker to downsize its large diesel mill to comply with the temporary large capacity diesel engine ban in Delhi
The temporary ban on diesel engines displacing over 2,000cc has brought sales of a lot of SUVs and luxury vehicles to a halt in Delhi. Mahindra side stepped the whole deal by launching a new 1.99 litre version of its 2.2 litre mHawk diesel engine to put its XUV500, Scorpio and Xylo back on the shelves of dealers in Delhi.
The other homegrown car maker Tata, is now reported to be mulling the same decision to downsize its 2.2 litre diesel engine to ensure that models such as the Safari, Safari Storme, Xenon and Aria can go back on sale in the national capital.
While this report is unconfirmed at this point of time, the possibility of a sub 2.0 litre diesel engine from Tata is not a farfetched one considering that the engine block is the same unit which both companies have sourced from Austrian powertrain developer – AVL.
While a sub 2,000cc diesel engine will undoubtedly benefit Tata Motors in allowing them to offer their large vehicles back on sale in the biggest car market across the nation, the question of viability does crop up. As of now, the ban on large capacity diesel engine has been enforced for a three month temporary period expiring on the 31st of March, 2016. As of now, it isn’t clear if this ban will stick through. And in the unlikely event that it does, a lot of passenger car makers will have to reconsider their product range for the country.
Also read: Mahindra introduces 1.99 litre diesel engine
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