Cars To Be Discontinued From April 2023 – New Emission Norms

Phase II of BS6 emission norms in RDE conditions are set to take a heavy toll on diesel cars

Adapting cars to meet BS6 emission norms was one heck of a job for Indian automakers had to comply with. We witnessed a lot of powertrains and vehicles discontinued post BS6 era. The most painful of them would probably be Fiat 1.3 liter diesel and Maruti Suzuki’s newly developed 1.5L turbo diesel engine with a 6-speed gearbox.

It was discontinued just after it was offered with the Ertiga and Ciaz. With stricter norms, we saw a lot of comrades that fell through the cracks while transitioning from BS4 to BS6. Now, with Phase II of BS6 emission standards set to kick in from April 2023, we will witness the fall of 17 more comrades.

Cars To Be Discontinued By April 2023

It’s not the end for diesel engines, though. As popular diesel vehicles will be equipped with necessary changes to make them compliant. Those cars that will see their demise, are the vehicles that are at the end of their respective life cycle or lower in sales charts. Or both. Let’s take a look at vehicles that won’t pass the new RDE norms.

Phase I of BS6 emission norms required vehicles to comply with test conditions. Now with Phase II of BS6 emission norms, all vehicles should comply with Real Driving Emission (RDE) conditions along with MIDC lab conditions (Modified Indian Test Cycle). With variations of speed in real traffic and frequent gear shifts, a lot of cars currently on sale won’t comply with RDE.

This is more taxing on diesel engines than petrol engines. To meet these new norms, manufacturers have to incorporate SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) method with diesel engines. This is really expensive when compared to the LNT (Lean NOx Trap) method that is currently implemented.

Manufacturers who offer larger diesel mills are said to already implement the SCR method on their vehicles. For example, the 2.0L turbo diesel mill that is found on Harrier, Safari, Compass and Hector is likely to be compliant with Phase II of BS6 norms already. The smaller 1.5L diesel mills are the ones that are on the rope now.

If economies of scale allow them to, manufacturers will go for the upgrade. For example, diesel options are still very popular and in demand with SUVs like Creta and Nexon. Those powertrains will be made compliant and the added cost will be justified as it is an SUV and costs a lot to begin with. With hatchbacks like Altroz and i20, petrol engines are more popular and hence they’ll be axed.

800cc Petrol Engines Will Be Axed

Speaking of getting axed, the 800cc mills offered with Kwid and Alto won’t make it past April 2023 owing to low demand. Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 will be axed, and Kwid from Renault. Hyundai is set to discontinue diesel variants of Verna and i20, along with Altroz diesel from Tata. Mahindra will pull the plug on Alturas G4, KUV100 and Marazzo owing to poor sales.

Skoda Octavia and Superb will meet their demise along with Kicks from Nissan. Innova Crysta diesel was already axed. Now Toyota is also axing Innova Crysta petrol. From Honda, 4th Gen City will be gone completely along with 5th Gen City and Amaze diesel. Aging Jazz and WR-V will also bid adieu to the Indian market after April 2023.