Since the diesel variant of their compact SUV, the Rio, is BS III compliant, Premier Auto cannot sell the car in the urban areas.
This has hit the already low sales of the car as it has hardly any appeal for the rural areas. Therefore, Premier are now looking at a new source to power the diesel Rio. Their quest has landed them on the doorsteps of their old ally, Fiat. Premier are looking forward to using the Italian car maker’s popular 1.3-litre multi-jet diesel engine that also powers the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Tata Indica Vista. The car is currently being tested in Italy to accommodate the integration of the new engine.
Once the technicalities are complete, Premier will enter into a deal to procure 68,000 multi-jet engines from Fiat. The BS IV Rio is expected to be launched in the first half of 2012.
