Tata to eye smaller diesel engines in wake of SC ban

Auto giant wants to be able to resume sales in areas affected by Supreme Court ban on big diesel engines

Tata Motors, the country’s biggest vehicle maker, is said to be working on reducing the engine size for its diesel vehicles, in the wake of sales restrictions in this regard imposed for the Delhi-National Capital Region.

The company is looking to downsize engines to below 2,000cc (two litres) for its models from its sports and utility vehicle portfolio, to be able to resume sales in these areas. The Supreme Court had in December banned all sale of diesel vehicles of an engine size above 2,000cc in Delhi-NCR till end-March, as an anti-pollution measure.

Last month, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) had launched a 1,999cc diesel engine to power its Scorpio and XUV500 models. This had allowed M&M, the utility vehicle market leader, to resume sales of these two models in Delhi.

Asked if Tata would be looking at downsizing its engines, Tim Leverton, its head, advanced and product engineering, said: “We are working on it because it is the right thing for us to consider. We cannot say when it is going to come about but we are certainly getting ready to deal with that.”

Downsizing of technology is not new to Tata Motors, maker of the Nano, Indica and Safari models. The company has also developed a one-litre diesel engine and a 1.2-litre petrol engine for its yet-to-be-launched Zica hatchback (the Zica is being renamed).

“If you look at all our engine strategy recently, we have exploited downsizing technology quite strongly. Our new gasoline engine, 1.2 litre, is from downsizing of technology. The engine in Zica has replaced a 1.4-litre diesel one in our older cars with a one-litre, three-cylinder diesel, with the same power and torque but much better fuel efficiency,” added Leverton.  

Tata showcased four new passenger vehicles at the recent Auto Expo in Greater Noida. Of these, the Hexa, a multi-seater utility vehicle, carries a diesel engine 2.2-litre in size and, therefore, ineligible for sale in Delhi-NCR. All the four vehicles are expected to reach the showrooms over the next 12 months. Presently six Tata Motors models — Aria, Movus, Safari, Safari Storme, Sumo Gold and Xenon — are affected by the ban.

“The vehicle density in Delhi is about a quarter compared to that in Mumbai but the air quality in Delhi is twice as bad. There is a whole range of issues at play here. Delhi is a specific issue and the air quality in Delhi has two-three elements. We understand the need to reduce emissions,” said Leverton.

Meanwhile, M&M has re-started sales of the Scorpio and XUV500 in Delhi-NCR. Till a month before, it was in the process of refunding the booking amount its dealers had taken from customers for buying these.

While announcing its December quarter results, Pawan Goenka, executive director at M&M, said: “The response has been very good (for the Scorpio and XUV500) but it is too early to say, as the dispatches began only a week back. We have many dealers who have placed orders.”

M&M’s six affected models used to generate 1,000 units a month from Delhi-NCR before the ban. Though Tata Motors is presently not as strong as M&M in the UV segment the focus will shift to mini and large SUVs over the course of 1-2 years.