By Maruti Suzuki’s most popular model Alto 800 is going to be discontinued in the country from April 2023. The phase II of BS6 emission norms on RDE (real driving emissions) condition and owing to low demand makes the Alto 800 bid goodbye to the Indian market. Many vehicles in the country will not pass the phase II BS6 new RDE norms as the vehicle is tested on real driving emissions along with modified Indian test cycle (MIDC) lab conditions. This 800 cc engine is currently used only in Alto so it doesn’t make sense to upgrade it.
The Alto 800 is powered by a 796 CC 3-cylinder petrol engine that produces 40.36 hp and 60 Nm of torque. The outgoing model Alto 800 was launched on October 2012 since then it has been the default choice of any first Indian car buyer, over the years the vehicle has undergone modification to give a fuel economy of 25 kmpl. The company has already introduced the next-generation of Alto and it is currently powered by a 1.0 L K-Series engine instead of the 800 cc unit. This engine is already available on many other Maruti models so the engine has been upgraded to meet the new emission norms.
Since the introduction of the new model, it took some time for the sales to stabilise and it was the third best selling model last month. Maruti has made so many changes to the new model and it is based on the advanced Heartect platform. The 3rd generation Alto was introduced to the Indian market only with K10 1.0 litre petrol engine hence the demand for the previous generation Alto 800 got reduced. Being a small car affordable to many Indians the Alto 800 was a very phenomenon success in the history of the Indian automobile industry.
