Maruti Grand Vitara CNG No Longer On Official Website: Discontinued?

Maruti Suzuki has quietly removed the Grand Vitara S-CNG from its official Maruti Nexa website. As a result of this, many people are speculating that the company has discontinued this model. For those who may not remember, the Grand Vitara S-CNG was launched back in January 2023. At the time, it was the first mid-size SUV in India to get the CNG powertrain from the factory. Most likely, the company will not be reintroducing the Grand Vitara CNG in India.

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara CNG

It has to be mentioned that although the company has removed the Grand Vitara CNG from the Nexa website, the company has not officially confirmed this with any press release. When it was launched back in January of 2023, the company offered the Grand Vitara CNG in two variants, namely - Delta CNG and Zeta CNG. The former was priced at Rs 12.85 lakh; meanwhile, the latter was priced at Rs 14.84 lakh.

Powering the Grand Vitara CNG was the same 1.5-litre K15C, four-cylinder NA petrol engine as the standard ICE model. However, its power was down from 100 PS to 87.8 PS. Its torque was also down from 136 Nm to 121.5 Nm. Both of the variants which were offered with the CNG drivetrain had a single transmission option of a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Why was the Grand Vitara CNG discontinued?

Many people might be wondering, why is the Grand Vitara CNG being discontinued? Well, there are a few reasons why this decision has been taken by the brand. The first and main reason is the low market demand and sales. As mentioned, the Grand Vitara CNG, when launched, was the only mid-size SUV with the CNG powertrain option.

Now, generally, buyers of premium SUVs of the mid-size segment do not prefer to buy manual, low-power CNG cars. So, as a result of this, the demand was low from the get-go. Maruti Suzuki did not elaborate on the sales figures of this model. Apart from this, many people also did not like the lack of power that the Grand Vitara CNG had.

Many people complained that the Grand Vitara in the CNG mode felt extremely underpowered. The vehicle only offered 87 bhp, which is very low when compared to standard petrol models and other competing SUVs. It was highlighted that this vehicle was only suitable for city driving, as it felt under stress on highway cruises.

Another major reason behind its failure was the low interest from fleet operators. As we all know, the fleet operators are the largest CNG vehicle buyers. However, as the Grand Vitara CNG was expensive and more premium, not many operators opted for it. Lastly, the Grand Vitara CNG overlapped with strong hybrid variants, which also offer an impressive mileage of 28 kmpl.

So, instead of paying a premium for the underpowered CNG variant, many buyers shifted to the strong hybrid variants of this SUV, which offered more power and better features. So, as a combined result of all these reasons, Maruti Suzuki had to take down the Grand Vitara from its official Nexa website.

In other Grand Vitara news, the company recently launched the updated 2025 model. It now comes with features such as newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels, 8-way powered driver's seat, electronic parking brake, rear window sunshades, and LED cabin lights.

Apart from these, the Grand Vitara also comes with a panoramic sunroof, 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless charger, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 360-degree camera, heads-up display, and ventilated seats. The company has also made the strong hybrid Grand Vitara cheaper by introducing the new variant – Delta Plus, priced at Rs 16.99 lakh.