CV Raman, chief technology officer, Maruti Suzuki India, says the petrol engine has the advantage of being adapted to multiple drivetrain combinations and alternate fuels that have the potential to improve efficiency and lower the carbon footprint, including hybrids, CNG, ethanol, flex fuel and flex fuel hybrids, compressed biogas and hydrogen-CNG. On the sidelines of a test drive event for the new Fronx, Raman said in an interaction with Anil Sasi that the company’s new 1 Litre turbo petrol Boosterjet engine, which has now been localised and inducted into its new offering, will be progressively offered with other models. And, diesel, according to him, is completely out of equation, as far as the country’s largest carmaker is concerned. Edited excerpts: Q. Is there an inherent trade-off when it comes to vehicle design and mileage, given the customer preference for SUVs with high hoodline and tall stance essentially makes them less streamlined, thereby lowering fuel efficiency? A. Design is something that brings customers into the showroom, and offering different types of body shapes is always important. Yes, when you look at SUVs, typically they have an upright stance, higher hoodline, which impacts CD (drag coefficient). Then this is an environment where there's regulatory pressure about CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency norms that are imposed on a carmaker’s entire fleet and progressively tightens the limits of the total emission of carbon dioxide, and for that the CD is an important factor. So, engineering is always about optimization… you have to decide what is the best fit. You can't have the best of everything, but it has to be just right for making a value proposition for the customer… The other thing is, of course, CD, in terms of acceleration, apart from the design aspect. You want acceleration, you know there is a trade-off on fuel efficiency. And if you improve the fuel efficiency, there's a dip on the acceleration. Then there’s the increased use of high tensile steel to get a better power to weight ratio… So it's always something you have to always do a little trade off and optimization. And so that's a little challenge for the engineer and we try to set up targets from our perspective… balance and optimisation are key to this… Q. In terms of the basic design for a car like the Fronx, how much of this was done in India and what were the inputs that came in from Japan? A. So, Maruti R&D works are essentially part of Suzuki R&D. We're entrusted with work, and are developing our capability to do such work and are developing our R&D centre (at Rohtak) to do evaluation and validation assignments… and carry out the application-related engineering work, basic technology work on platforms and powertrains. The Fronx is one such example where from design to SOP, we did it here. The DITC (turbo petrol Boosterjet engine offered in the higher variants of the Fronx), as such, is from Japan, but the localisation was done here, validation work was done here. Calculation work was done here… Also, the suspension tuning was done here, looking at the road condition in India. It's a combination of R&D at both locations, predominantly the design part and the engineering part was done here. Q. On these engine choices and development work, does Toyota also have a say, given that both companies are sharing platforms and engines now? A. There is no influence as far as Toyota is concerned in these types of products… Toyota was involved in the Grand Vitara, where the overall engineering of the car was done by Suzuki, from model design to engineering.. to pretty much everything. And the powertrain of the hybrid system that was integrated by Suzuki, even though the powertrain itself came from Toyota… and whatever level of localization they have in their own subsidiary, that they are doing… but apart from that, all the validation work was done by Suzuki and then by Maruti and then the localisation happened (the Suzuki Grand Vitara, alongside Toyota’s Hyryder, was manufactured at Toyota’s Bidadi plant)… and whatever is the chain, there is a different kind of design for them (like for the Toyota Hyryder) and they sell through their channel and we sell through ours. That’s very clear… That’s what we followed for the (Suzuki) Baleno or the (Toyota) Glanza (that were both manufactured by Maruti Suzuki)… Whatever changes they wanted, we did it, cross-badged it and sold it to them (Toyota).. and then Toyota sold it through their platform… That’s the collaboration at the local level… At the global level, there’s the larger Toyota and Suzuki partnership. A. The new one litre Boosterjet engine, which has now been localised… will that be offered with other models? A. Yes, definitely, because once we’ve localised it, there’s investment made… First we need to satisfy the volumes of Fronx itself and once that is done, then we will see where it can be mated… there an opportunity there Q. And for the time being, is diesel completely out of the equation? A. Diesel is completely out… We did study the market, but we found that it didn't make sense given the future regulatory environment, the cost would have been really high and it just didn't make sense. As a substitute, maybe the 1 litre boosterjet might work, in terms of offering the punch and the torque. Q. So, if there’s a toss up between the 1.2L natural aspirated engine and the 1 L turbocharged engine, it is always the former that’d be better in terms of the mileage factor, even though the turbocharged engine is smaller in capacity. A. As far as the Boosterjet is concerned, we've mated it with this a smart hybrid system, so there is a boost, regen (regenerative system) and the (idle) start-stop (function), and so, from a fuel efficiency perspective, we've been able to tune it in such a way so that the gap between naturally-aspirated (engine) and the Boosterjet is only 0.3km If we had not done that, then maybe the gap would have been higher… the naturally aspirated would have been much better (in terms of mileage). Q. In terms of aligning newer technologies, say the hydrogen internal combustion engine, flex fuel etc… Is the petrol engine better than diesel in terms of getting the powertrain ready for these kinds of possibilities. A. So, very clearly, the opportunity for doing any of these alternate fuels is very high on petrol. In diesel, it is almost non-existent, in a way. The ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle, the petrol engine is open to combinations, it can be offered on its own, it can take ethanol, it can take E10 (E10 fuel is 90 percent petrol mixed with 10 percent ethanol), it can take E20. So all our vehicles coming after April 1 (2023) have already become E20… Does that involve changes in materials and inputs? A. The material of the rubber parts of the fuel system, that's about it. But the tuning is not done for the E20 as yet. We'll do that from April 2025, when E20 fuel is introduced pan India. So, a petrol (engine) does present that opportunity… It also can be combined with CNG. So we already have a dual fuel kind of vehicle, where we can run it on CNG and so, once you do ethanol, it also opens up the opportunity for our flex fuel design (Maruti showcased an E85 engine (capable of handling 85 percent ethanol). When we do CNG, it opens up opportunities for compressed biogas. So, that’s phase two. So that's carbon negative… and that opens up that opportunity too… A petrol engine with a hybrid has a much higher fuel efficiency. So, in a way, the petrol engine, we are trying to make its life longer by using all these interventions, and trying to make the cost differential not so high, which makes sense for the segment where we are. So, it opens up that opportunity. So all of this, combined as a portfolio, helps us in meeting our objective of reducing our CO2 footprint, making it sustainable, and gives us an opportunity for the next phase of CAFE (norms). So that's the kind of direction that we’re headed. Then there’s the hybrid and the EVs (Battery electric vehicle). So in a way that will open up that kind of gamut of technology. In the future, there are two opportunities as far as hydrogen is concerned. One is on the H-CNG – hydrogen blended in the CNG, and there’s also a hydrogen engine that the heavy duty manufacturers have showcased. The Hydrogen ICE engine, which is still at a very early stage (Toyota has a prototype). But hydrogen CNG is a possibility. If you increase the blend of hydrogen in CNG, it can work, but then we'll have to do a lot of changes in the engine and in all the delivery pipes and also on the cylinder. The cylinder has to be a composite cylinder, because there can't be any leaks since there’s higher pressure, the metal also has to be different…so that hydrogen de-embrittlement (the hardening of metal that happens when hydrogen-susceptible metals have been introduced to the gas) does not happen. So those kinds of precautions or countermeasures need to be there. Also, the source of hydrogen is important, and green hydrogen is optimal… So, ultimately, what I'm trying to get to is that all of this is required for sustainability, if we are looking at carbon neutral technologies… Q. And this is a period of flux, when there are so many question marks over the whole battery ecosystem and the viability of some of these technologies. Say, in terms of India being part of the ecosystem for sourcing all of those materials that are part of that value chain, not just Lithium, but cobalt and nickel etc. A. Currently not, definitely not. And then, even if we get the battery cost right, there is a need to get the infrastructure ready. And that's where the challenge is, as I see it. Usually it is dismissed… that it will eventually come up. But you already have infrastructure for dispensing petrol and diesel, and the government is trying to increase CNG. If you do that, we have the option of an alternative for reducing crude oil. Again, if you're looking at ethanol or even flex fuel, you require infrastructure to be able to dispense it. If you are looking at EV again, again you need to have charging infrastructure. And we need to maintain infrastructure… An even bigger challenge is hydrogen, the transportation of hydrogen, that’s very difficult. And all of this, combined with the fact that if you start looking at tank-to-wheel, the economics of it becomes more challenging… If I talk like this, they would say, hey, you don't have an EV, so you’re talking like this. But, as an engineer, the hard fact is that EVs need a lot of things to fall into place. And they have not succeeded anywhere without subsidies. Challenges are very evident. So, we believe that's the reason we should be looking at all these technologies because we don't know which one will eventually make it… the optimization and balance has to be created. Q The new CAFE target of 113 grams or so, how difficult is it for a Maruti Suzuki to remain compliant, and given that you're in the lower end of the weight spectrum, does it become much more challenging? A. In a way, yes. So, it’s basically a line, with weight and CO2 (as the factors), So, the lower the weight, the challenge for reduction becomes higher because our weights (all of Maruti Suzuki’s models put together) are lower. So, the reduction may be a common objective for everybody, but a lower base (on the fleet weight parameter) makes it that much more challenging…
