Upcoming Mercedes-Benz diesel cars to be BS-VI compliant

- New Diesel cars to be BS-VI compliant
- Diesel variants contribute a major share in overall sales
- Sometime later petrol variants to also be BS-VI compliant

German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has revealed its plans to introduce only BS-VI compliant diesel engines going ahead. This fresh development ensures that the company will be meeting the deadline far earlier than the government mandated deadline for the shift to BS-VI, which is April 2020. The facelifted S-Class which was launched earlier this year, marked the debut for BS-VI compliant diesel car. Interestingly, the BS-VI diesel variant is compatible with BS-IV fuel which is available in most parts of the country.

Although the plan for BS-VI upgrade is applicable for all new diesel engines, it is believed that the company will initially start with the four-cylinder diesel engines which are available in the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, E-Class, the GLA and the GLC gradually followed by six-cylinder and more options. The move is expected to help the company considerably as it is believed that the German luxury car manufacturer receives around 75 per cent of total sales for the diesel variant. On the pricing front, the latest upgrade will mean a slight hike in overall prices. However, the company is yet to reveal details about the percentage of hike in prices for the diesel versions.

The German luxury car manufacturer has shown interest in upgrading its petrol versions to BS-VI over time as well. Speaking to media, Michael Jopp, Mercedes-Benz India VP Sales and Marketing said, “Going forward, all the diesel engines we plan to launch in the country will be BS VI compliant only. The government deadline of April 2020 does not pose any challenge for us as we are way ahead of that time line.”