Suzuki and RDE

50Twuncle

I have just discovered that Suzuki may be having problems

The Baleno has stopped production - something to do with RDE1 - although my automatic Baleno averages over 50mpg and costs just £30 road tax
Which is strange - because the Baleno and Swift are built on (near) identical platforms - yet the Swift is unaffected.
Could it be that Suzuki are next in the emission scandal ?
Anyone got any idea what's going on ?
What will this mean for current Baleno owners etc ?

eamon

I suspect it is a bit more nuanced than you think. I listened to a radio program last week and the fate of the Baleno may be similar. Renault are dropping the Twingo and PSA (Peugeot, Citroen & Vauxhall/Opel) the Viva/Adam, C1 & 108. Toyota the Aygo (The Aygo, C1, 108 are all buit in the same factory). If I remember correctly for all model variants that a car manufacturer makes at least one needs to be an electric vehicle. These models are problematic as the makers with current battery technology can't make them work. Something to do with the weight, size etc.

facade

I thought RDE1 would only apply to new type approvals- the celery and baleno are donkeys years old. Is it just that sales are falling in the UK, so they are dropped? The UK is a small market compared to India, are Maruti dropping them?



There is some talk of an average emission across the whole vehicle sales, which is supposed to be why they are in bed with Toyota to get an electric vehicle out to lower the average.

50Twuncle

No - Maruti are keeping them all

AdrianC

facade wrote: »

I thought RDE1 would only apply to new type approvals

New car type approvals a while back, all cars on sale from 1st Sept this year...

So, yes, it's possible they're being pulled because they didn't meet them. Or it's possible they're being pulled because sales aren't enough to make (expensive) certification worthwhile.

AdrianC

eamon wrote: »

Renault are dropping the Twingo and PSA (Peugeot, Citroen & Vauxhall/Opel) the Viva/Adam, C1 & 108. Toyota the Aygo (The Aygo, C1, 108 are all buit in the same factory).

Toyota are continuing the Aygo, and taking full ownership of the joint venture. The C1/108 aren't being dropped - they're simply not being replaced when the next Aygo is launched around 2021 - or, at least, if they are it won't be through Toyota-shared models.

The Viva is a GM Korea bought-in product, the Adam is simply old and didn't sell particularly well... Remember, PSA are replacing the DS3 - their nearest rival to the Adam - with an SUV, the DS3 Crossback.

Wouldn't surprise me if there was corporate politics behind the Twingo, too - remember, it's a reskin of the Smart, and that's continuing.

If I remember correctly for all model variants that a car manufacturer makes at least one needs to be an electric vehicle.

We're a very LOOOONG way from that.

50Twuncle

Does anybody know if there is currently any tie in between Suzuki and VW ?
They have tried - at least twice over the last 20 years - the last split was supposedly quite acrimonious !

AdrianC

50Twuncle wrote: »

Does anybody know if there is currently any tie in between Suzuki and VW ?
They have tried - at least twice over the last 20 years - the last split was supposedly quite acrimonious !

...and then some - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34103944

No, they certainly won't be back in bed so quickly.

Toyota bought 5% of Suzuki last month, so that's the direction they're looking for any future partnerships. Remember, they're also in bed with Fiat (Sedici/SX4, and Fiat diesel engines)

50Twuncle

facade wrote: »

the celery and baleno are donkeys years old.

The Baleno is 4 years old !

facade

50Twuncle wrote: »

The Baleno is 4 years old !

So it is, the latest incarnation of the Baleno- now built by Maruti in India, was introduced in 2014, as opposed to the Baleno that was introduced in 1995.



"Modern" cars all look the same to me



It would still pre-date the required type approval for RDE1 though, and go on the September date Adrian refers to.

50Twuncle

This, still doesn't explain why the Baleno has been dropped - the car puts out extremely low emissions as it stands (0.027g/km NOx particulates) - so there must be some other reason ?



"From 1 September 2017, every brand-new to market car destined for sale in the EU will undergo the new WLTP test before it gains type approval. From September 2018, all new cars registered will be required to pass the WLTP test before they reach a showroom.
At present, manufacturers have the option of putting new cars through the RDE test, but it will not be mandatory until September 2019. The first stage of RDE –known as step 1 or RDE1 – allows a car to emit 2.1 times the amount of NOx during testing."