M&M develops 1.9-litre Scorpio to beat Delhi diesel car ban

Mahindra & Mahindra has emerged as the first carmaker to take extensive measures to go around the diesel car ban in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court, in a bid to bring down soaring pollution in the capital, had recently given an order to ban the registration of any new diesel vehicles in the city, over the capacity of 2,000cc. This is was in addition to the restrictions imposed on heavier, commercial vehicles and the odd-even rule in the capital to bring pollution down. 

The standard Scorpio draws power from the 2.2-litre m-Hawk engine. Sales of the Scorpio SUV and XUV500 were threatened, along with most other M&M models -- Bolero, Thar, Xylo that use an engine above 2.0-litre capacity -- after the order from the apex court, however, with the new, smaller capacity engine, customers can continue buying the Scorpio in New Delhi.

The 1.9-litre Scorpio has already been approved for sale by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), while the XUV500 is expected to be cleared for approval by February, an Economic Times report has said.

According to the report, the smaller capacity SUVs will be available at dealerships across the country and not only New Delhi where the ban is in place. 

The report also states that the smaller capacity engine will not affect the torque churned by the Scorpio; it is likely to remain in line with that put out by a 2.2-litre engine.