New Delhi. Today in India you will hardly find any hatchback car with diesel engine except one or two. But there was a time when small diesel vehicles were very popular in India. You will be surprised to know that the same engine was being used in most of these vehicles. The situation was such that this one engine was being used in 24 cars. For this reason it came to be called the “National Diesel Engine” of the country. If we look at the importance of this car, it would not be wrong to call it the 'God' of vehicles.
Fiat's 1.3 liter Multijet diesel engine is known for revolutionizing the Indian automobile market. It has covered a long and successful journey on Indian roads. This engine, introduced in India in the 2000s, became very popular among middle class customers due to its excellent mileage, strong performance and low maintenance costs. This engine revolutionized the Indian automobile industry and continues to be the choice of many major car manufacturers. In this article, we are going to tell you about the journey of this engine and why this engine became so popular in India.
Engine start and success
The 1.3 liter Multijet engine was first introduced by Fiat in India in 2000, but it was not limited to Fiat vehicles. This engine found its place in the cars of major Indian companies like Tata and Maruti Suzuki as well as legendary companies like Premier. Tata's popular cars Tata Indica and Tata Indigo, and Maruti's bestseller cars Swift, Dezire and Ritz ran on this engine. At the same time, Chevrolet was also using this engine in its models in India. Overall, this engine was being used in 24 models at that time. Maruti was using this one engine in 25% of its models.
Better mileage and performance
The 1.3 liter Multijet engine was known for its tremendous mileage and excellent performance. Generally, cars equipped with this engine gave a mileage of 20 to 24 kilometers per liter, which was an important attraction in the Indian market at that time. Its low maintenance cost and long-lasting reliability have made it the first choice of many customers.
Journey and challenges from BS4 to BS6
In 2017, the Indian government implemented BS4 emission standards, even after which this engine was successful in maintaining its popularity. However, when BS6 emission standards came into effect in 2020, Fiat decided not to update this engine. Maruti, in a meeting with Fiat officials, decided not to update this engine as per BS6 standards. The reason for this was that updating this engine as per BS6 mandate was a very expensive deal.
After the implementation of BS6 norms, the journey of Fiat 1.3 liter Multijet engine in the Indian market ended. Along with this, companies like Maruti and Tata also stopped using this engine. However, this engine gave a new direction to the Indian automobile industry in its time and increased the inclination of customers towards diesel cars. Its era ended after BS6 standards, but its legacy is still alive in many old vehicles.
Tags: auto news
FIRST PUBLISHED: October 1, 2024, 19:13 IST