April 2020 is here, and while the coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed it a bit, our nation has moved to the cleaner and more stringent Bha...
April 2020 is here, and while the coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed it a bit, our nation has moved to the cleaner and more stringent Bharat Stage VI (BS6) emission standards. So, going forward all carmakers can produce and sell only BS6 compliant vehicles. While there are carmakers who have been struggling with this transition, Maruti Suzuki India has been among the few who planned ahead and started rolling BS6 vehicles almost a year in advance. In fact, the company told carandbike that as of March 2020, it has sold over 7.5 lakh BS6 vehicles in India, ahead of the April 1 deadline.
The first milestone announced by Maruti Suzuki in terms of BS6 vehicle sales was in November 2019, when the company crossed the 3 lakh units mark. In the next two months, the company crossed the 5 lakh units milestone, and by March 2020, the company's total BS6 vehicle sales increased by an addition 2.5 lakh units. The numbers could have increased further, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company had to suspend all production and sales operations from March 22 onwards. The outbreak also took a hit on the company's March sales which was down by 47 per cent.
The Maruti Suzuki Alto was the first car to make the shift to BS6 emission standards
Maruti Suzuki India launched its first BS6 model, the Alto, in April 2019, powered by the BS6 version of the 800 cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine, which was followed by the launch of the Baleno facelift in the same month, which came with the BS6 version of the tried and tested 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine. Later the company launched BS6 petrol versions of the new Wagon R, Swift, and Dzire in the subsequent months, and all three models borrowed the Baleno's 1.2-litre mill. With the Ertiga, the company introduced the BS6 version of its new 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine, in August, and in the same month Maruti launched the XL6 with the same engine. The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso was launched in September and became its first car to features a 1.0-litre BS6 engine. Before the deadline, the last Maruti Suzuki car to make the transition to BS6 emission regulation was the Vitara Brezza facelift, which too got the 1.5-litre petrol engine from the Ertiga.
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Before the deadline, the last Maruti Suzuki car to become BS6 compliant was the Vitara Brezza facelift
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Currently, the S-Cross is the only Maruti Suzuki vehicle that is yet to make the shift, however, the company has showcased the BS6 petrol version of the car at the Auto Expo 2020, which is slated to be launched soon. The production of all BS4/diesle cars were stopped in January. In fact, as of January 2020, Maruti Suzuki has only manufactured BS6 vehicles. Other manufactures in India who have made a complete transition to BS6 emission regulations ahead of deadline include - Toyota India, Ford India, Jeep India. All of them have largely exhausted their BS4 stock and are only producing BS6 compliant vehicles since February 2020.
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As for those which still have uncleared BS4 stock, on March 27, the Supreme Court had ruled that given the coronavirus situation, dealers will get an extension of 10 days after the lockdown lifts, to sell BS4 vehicles. Only 10 per cent of the total stock can be sold during these days, and all the vehicles sold have to be registered within 10 days. Also, no BS4 vehicle can be sold in Delhi/NCR.
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