Mahindra to offer petrol engines for all models from 2018

  New Delhi: Homegrown automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra will offer petrol variants of all its models beginning from 2018. The decision has come after the NGT’s ban on diesel engines over 2,000 cc displacement.   All the products launched from 2018 will be powered by a petrol engine. The Mahindra is currently working on a 1.5-litre petrol mill to add to the existing powertrains of a 1.2-litre mill. So, in all Mahindra vehicles, there will be three petrol motors as the 1.2, 1.5 and the 2.0-litre mills.   At a time, when luxury carmakers have taken a hit, with sales declining after the ban, homegrown manufacturers are working their way around the hurdle. Some buyers question why ban 2.0-litre and above diesel mills, when they stick to the current norms as the BS-IV that apply. However, the negative sentiment has affected the market for diesel cars.   The sales of diesel powered vehicles have been on the decline, as it went down to 41% in the April to June quarter in 2016-17, against the 44 percent in the same period last year. Meanwhile, sales of petrol cars have been on the rise, which went up to 59 percent from in April-June quarter from last year’s 56% during the same period, says SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers).   Due to the ban, engines are either restricted to displacement below 2,000 cc or offered separate petrol versions of the same models. The Mahindra also launched a 1.9-litre mHawk diesel engine powered Scorpio and XUV500, especially for Delhi-NCR.   Mahindra is also positive about and hopeful of the decision because the KUV100 has been selling 10 percent higher at 50% than their expectations before launch in January 2016. So, the market movement is definitely positive towards petrol engines, which seems to justify Mahindra’s decision to launch petrol variants for all their models beginning from 2018. Source: vicky.in