It would seem that Maruti Suzuki has killed off the car that it claims is the most fuel efficient in India: the Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel version. The official website of the Indian automaker still has a page for the diesel version of the Celerio, but a quick look at the pricing range reveals that Maruti Suzuki has removed diesel variants from the list. Now all you can find are the 14 variants of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio with the petrol engine, ranging from the base level Maruti Suzuki Celerio LXI at INR 4.04 lakh to the top-end Maruti Suzuki Celerio ZXI AMT (O) priced at INR 5.25 lakh (both prices ex-showroom Delhi). Maruti Suzuki has not yet made an official announcement, but a push to get rid of the diesel car would be in line with what RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, said at an interview in December 2016. Also Read - Maruti Suzuki India Issues SOPs For Nearly 4,000 Service Centres in Country

During the interview with ET Auto, RC Bhargava discussed the possible impact of new stricter emission regulations, particularly the BS VI norms that are being considered at the moment. He suggested that the new norms would raise the prices of small diesel cars, making them less viable options at the entry level and essentially killing them off by 2020. Given RC Bhargava s sentiments, the discontinuation of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel variant could be considered a prudent pre-emptive move by Maruti Suzuki. Also Read: Maruti Suzuki expects small diesel cars to cease production by 2020 Also Read - COVID-19 Relief: Maruti Suzuki Ready to Deliver First Batch of 1,000 Ventilators Today

Long-term strategy aside, the Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel models were also less successful than their petrol counterparts. Launched in 2015, the diesel Celerio was considered an important car for Maruti Suzuki, with its engine being the smallest production unit in the world at the time. The Celerio was also launched as among the most affordable diesel cars in India. But the 793cc, two-cylinder engine delivering just 49 bhp of power and 125 Nm of torque proved to be its biggest disadvantage. The last two months of 2016 saw Maruti Suzuki dealers push the Celerio diesel for discounts of up to INR 1 lakh to clear out stock. Also Read: Top 5 cars in India under INR 5 lakh in 2016

This marks the end of the road for the Celerio diesel, but the Maruti Suzuki Celerio continues to be a popular model in its petrol and CNG avatars, including the AMT variants. Sales of the car crossed 1 lakh units within 16 months, and the small hatchback has consistently sold around 7,000-9,000 units every month in 2016. Maruti Suzuki claims that the Celerio offers best-in-class mileage of 23.1 kmpl for the petrol version, and the hatchback has won multiple awards over its production years.