E20 dispute: Maruti Suzuki to challenge order to replace car, cites fuel contamination |
NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India said on Thursday it will challenge a district consumer court order that directed the company to replace a customer’s Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid with a new E20-compatible vehicle, calling the commission’s order incomplete and disputing its findings.“The car in this case was an E20 compatible car, fully equipped to handle E20 fuel and so disclosed in the owner’s manual. There is evidence of contamination in the fuel collected from the customer’s vehicle. Several other relevant facts have also not been reflected in the order,” the company said in a statement.“Maruti Suzuki will take necessary steps to challenge the impugned order before appropriate higher forum in accordance with law,” the statement added. The company also said it remains fully committed to quality, safety and customer satisfaction through robust engineering, processes and systems.
Why was Maruti Suzuki ordered to replace the Grand Vitara?
The Raipur District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission passed the order on July 14. It directed Maruti Suzuki and its Raipur dealer, Nexa Magneto (Sky Auto Mobile), to replace the SUV owned by Dr Premraj Devta, a 41-year-old kidney specialist, with a new E20-compatible vehicle of the same model.Devta had bought the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid Zeta Plus in June 2024 for Rs 18,29,000. He said the car kept developing technical problems after E20 petrol became widely available. He also said he was never told at the time of purchase that the vehicle could not fully run on this ethanol-blended fuel.The commission’s order said the vehicle was actually manufactured in January 2023 — nearly 17 months before it was sold to him as new. It also noted that the car ran fine for around 21,913 km before it started breaking down repeatedly, despite several workshop visits, fuel tank cleanings and part replacements.Maruti and the dealer had argued in their defence that the problem was caused by contaminated or adulterated fuel, not any manufacturing defect. They also submitted lab reports claiming the fuel used in the car was of poor quality. But the commission bench, headed by President Prashant Kundu and Member Dr Anand Varghese, held both the company and the dealer guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. It said repeated refuelling and tank cleaning could not have fixed the recurring breakdowns.The commission ordered Maruti and the dealer to replace the vehicle within 45 days. If they fail to do so, they will have to refund the full value of the car — Rs 20,50,494, which includes RTO charges and insurance. On top of this, they must also pay Rs 1 lakh for mental agony and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs. If this amount is not paid on time, it will attract 7 per cent annual interest.Maruti Suzuki has now said it plans to challenge this order before a higher forum.
