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Maruti Suzuki has launched the Vitara Brezza SUV only with a diesel engine at a time when the fuel is increasingly finding itself in the middle of a controversy over rising pollution levels in large cities. Company Managing Director Kenichi Ayukawa admitted in a conversation with Swaraj Baggonkar that car manufacturers including Maruti Suzuki are finding it difficult to work on diesel technology given the recent challenges.

What future do you see for diesel vehicles in India?
People are expecting diesel version or not in the future depending on that we have to decide which is better. As far as our understanding goes the SUV segment is 90 per cent diesel not only in Delhi but nationwide. That is why we went ahead with diesel on the Brezza.

Are you worried at the frequency with which rules are changed?
Regulations are not yet fixed at this moment and we have to look at how the government decides from here. Depending on that we will have to decide our next step and direction.

Will you reduce our focus and investments on diesel technology?
The development needs to continue. We do not know what changes will there be in volumes because that depends on various conditions. Three years back people were expecting diesel and right now nobody seems to be excited about it. This is a very strange situation. I do not know what is the correct direction. We already have petrol technology and we have to see how we manage that. It depends on what stand government takes and what customers want.

Where do you want to be in the compact SUV segment?
We want to be the segment leader in the compact SUV segment. We have to focus on Brezza for the time being and it in enough to take care of demand for the time being.