According to unnamed Maruti Suzuki dealers across India, the diesel variants of the Ignis hatchback are no longer built by the automaker owing to an overwhelming preference for petrol variants of the car. It’s not clear if the discontinuation of the Ignis Diesel is temporary or permanent. Car makers routinely slow down or pause production of certain car variants to align inventory levels with demand. This could be the case with the Ignis Diesel as well. Meanwhile, here are few quotes from unnamed Maruti Suzuki dealers operating out of Mumbai and Chennai respectively.
A Maruti Suzuki dealer from Mumbai said,
“We are not taking any bookings for the Ignis diesel model and this is essentially because of the low demand of the car with that fuel type.”
Another dealer from Chennai added,
“The diesel version of the Ignis costs close to 8 lakhs and that’s a lot of money for a small diesel car. Hence, more customers are opting for the petrol variant as it has all the features.”
Meanwhile, sales of the Ignis have been decent. The hatchback has sold over 13,000 units over the last 3 months, averaging over 4,000 units each month. Based on the HEARTECT platform that it shares with the Maruti Baleno and Swift hatchbacks, the Ignis also shares its engines and gearboxes with the two cars. The petrol variants of the Ignis use the 1.2-litre K-Series engine with 82 Bhp-113 Nm. Five-speed manual and AMT options are on offer. The diesel engine of the car is a 1.3-litre, Fiat Multijet turbocharged unit with 74 Bhp-190 Nm. Like the petrol engine, the diesel gets 5-speed manual and AMT options.
Twin airbags and ABS are standard safety features across the Ignis range. Targeting young, upmarket buyers, the Ignis hatchback is sold through Maruti’s NEXA dealership chain. The car gets a host of personalisation options, in order to make it funky and exciting for buyers. Prices of the Ignis start from Rs. 4.66 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi, making the car cheaper than both the Swift and Baleno. In fact, the Ignis is Maruti’s entry-level B-Segment hatchback offering, meant to attract price-conscious buyers looking for a funky, high ground clearance car.