Tata working on a sub 2.0-litre engine

Contemplating on the diesel ban, put by the Supreme Court around one month ago, Tata is exploring its options to retain its dominance in the Indian car market. One of them is whether to bring a sub 2.0 litre diesel engine in its cars. The Indian automaker currently deploys 2,179cc mill in its models like Xenon, Safari Dicor, Safari Storme and Aria. Sumo Gold gets even a bigger engine, with a capacity of 2,956cc.

The Court banned registration of diesel cars which have an engine capacity of 2,000cc and above, in Delhi region, for a period of three months. The ruling has made an appearance at a time when pollution has worsened the quality of air in the national capital. Various car companies have now started looking for alternatives, as it is probable that the ban may continue, as the Government and Court have taken a firm stand regarding it. Mahindra recently introduced XUV500 and Scorpio with a 1.99-litre unit in order to keep the ban in check. Toyota, too is mulling over petrol variants of its stalwart car, Innova.

The ban has been controversial in the sense that it has considered engine capacity as the only criteria of calculating emissions. Automakers like Jaguar have been particularly skeptical, as they claim the technology employed in their vehicles have made their four-wheelers air-purifiers rather than air-polluters, particularly in the NCR region. Other manufacturers too, have expressed their reservation over the logic placed behind the ban. Analysts predict that rather than the engine capacity, amount of pollutant particles emitted by vehicles should be considered as the sole criteria, as they are at the base of the problem.

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