Maruti had promised that 2009 was going to be the year of increasing its presence in the diesel end of the market and had plans to push its premium sedan SX4 into the diesel category. But the company is running into delays in procuring the diesel engine from Fiat.
Maruti was keen on launching the diesel SX4 since Honda's new City came in to the market in October last year.
But Fiat did not want a clash with its new Linea that came into India this January. Fiat is expected to first launch a more powerful diesel Linea and that’s why the SX4 gets pushed to 2010. This may not be great for Maruti as the SX4 has been steadily losing share with the Honda City now outselling the SX4. In the last six months, Honda sold 15,000 Cities while Maruti sold just 8000 SX4s. Maruti is hoping the diesel SX4 revives the model's fortunes as it currently also gets cannibalised by the Swift Dzire.
Maruti is sticking to its volumes strategy and the new SX4 will only add to that but by ensuring that the engines are made in India, Maruti is also keeping one eye firmly on the margins.