Maruti Suzuki, a name synonymous with Indian roads, has been playing it smart. While they’ve been a tad hesitant about jumping onto the Electric Car bandwagon, they’ve been heavily investing in hybrids. And guess what? They’re about to roll out hybrid versions of their crowd favourites – the Swift and the Dzire.
Maruti Hybrid Models
Having been in the hybrid game for a while, Maruti Suzuki’s not new to this. After the roaring success of their first strong hybrid, the Grand Vitara, they’re gearing up to launch hybrid versions of the Swift and Dzire. And if the rumours are to be believed, these cars are set to redefine fuel efficiency in the Indian market. We’re looking at a launch somewhere in the early months of 2024. Internally, they’re calling these hybrid versions YED, and they’re powered by a brand-new engine.
This engine, labelled Z12E, is a 1.2-litre three-cylinder beast. It’s distinct from the current K12C engine and is backed by Toyota’s robust hybrid tech. This is the same tech we saw in the Grand Vitara and Urban Cruiser Hyryder. And here’s the kicker – they’ve tweaked this engine to make it more affordable, allowing it to fit seamlessly into smaller cars.
Expected 35 kmpl Mileage
Now, let’s talk numbers. Fuel efficiency has always been the name of the game in India. The current Swift gives you about 22.56 km/l, and the Dzire? A whopping 24.1 km/l. The Grand Vitara hybrid? An impressive 27.97 km/l. But hold onto your hats, because the upcoming Swift and Dzire hybrids could potentially offer between 35 to 40 km/l. Mind-blowing, right?
This boost in fuel efficiency is a game-changer for Maruti Suzuki’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rating. These hybrid models are set to earn them some major brownie points in the CAFE II scoring system.
But here’s the catch – quality comes at a price. Integrating hybrid tech is bound to bump up the car’s cost. While we don’t have exact figures yet, it’s clear that the hybrid tech will add a bit to the final price tag. Word on the street is that Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are working overtime to minimize this price gap between the petrol and hybrid models. They’re focusing on localizing the hybrid system to achieve this.
To give you a perspective, the price difference between the robust and mild hybrid versions of the Grand Vitara is around 2.6 lakhs. But Maruti Suzuki’s aiming to bring that down to just about 1 lakh rupees.
