Fiat Chrysler Automobiles discontinues their 1.3L diesel engines
Just like every other thing on the planet, there’s an end to an era for cars as well. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has taken the executive decision to discontinue their 1.3-liter diesel mill post-implementation of BS6 norms.
The BS4-inclined 1.3-liter diesel engine which was often regarded as the ‘The national Diesel Engine’ has finally reached the end of its production line. The initial plan to discontinue the mill was back in September 2017 when the BS6 regulations were first published.
However, the primary reason for discontinuation was a direct result of the two main clients who used the 1.3 MJD, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki. These two have now developed their own diesel power plants. This came as a hard hit on the revenue charts and Fiat decided it was in the company’s best interests to discontinue the engine.
The last unit (#810828) of this legendary engine was manufactured on the 23rd January 2018. It was rolled out at the facility unit at Rajangaon, Pune. An employee of the unit, Sameer Ajagaonkar, shared on Facebook how this engine has “directly and indirectly supported thousands of families”.
Further, numerous employment opportunities were created during its era as well. The total production number stood at a grand 9,60,719. Additionally, he praised the excellent design of the engine which made the process of manufacturing, fitting and repairing much easier and simpler. Adding to that, he boasted about the fuel efficiency and leading durability of the engine. Also, owing to the effortless tuning ability, the engine’s life was amazing.
It is safe to assume that more than 50% of the cars running on the Indian roads with a diesel engine employ the 1.3 liters SDE MJD (Small Diesel engine – Multi Jet Direct Injection) which falls under Fiat’s common-rail diesel range. This range may be known to others as JTD which stands for Jet Turbo Diesel.
If the nomenclature SDE-MJD is unfamiliar to you, then names like Duratorq TDCi (Ford), DDiS (Maruti Suzuki), and Quadrajet (Tata Motors) should be able to ring a bell. The engine that was manufactured for the last Fiat India products was named “Multi Jet II”.
Talking in global terms, the manufactures amongst whom the engine was popular are Chevrolet, Opel, Citroen, Lancia, Peugeot and Suzuki. However, the engine was not perfectly fit for the models of the brands, especially the small sedans and hatchbacks. What these brands did was work on the original design of the engine and modify the characteristics according to requirements. Most of the changes that were done were on the camshafts, common-rail injection system, timing system, and turbocharger. However, other changes were made too if required.
Maruti Suzuki served the popular 1,248cc DDiS to a bunch of its models. The SDE MJD provided around 190-200Nm torque with 74-90bhp. This engine was usually provided to models with a 5-speed manual transmission. However, some of the models received AMT units and torque converters alongside. Some of the popular models which received this engine are Maruti Suzuki’s Ciaz, Baleno, Ertiga, Dzire, S-Cross, Swift, Ritz, Ignis, XL6 and Brezza; Tata’s Indigo, Bolt, Indica, and Zest; Fiat’s Linea and Punto, among others.
