Maruti Suzuki India has announced that its Smart Hybrid vehicles – the Ciaz SHVS sedan and Ertiga SHVS MPV – have crossed cumulative sales of 100,000 units this month. While the Ciaz SHVS was introduced on September 1, 2015, the Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS) technology was introduced in the Ertiga Diesel on October 16, 2015.

SHVS is a technology which uses an Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) and an advanced high capacity battery to supplement the engine’s power. SHVS technology makes it more efficient than the conventional set-up and saves energy while decelerating/braking. The two Maruti cars benefits from incentives available in the government’s FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles) India scheme.

Both the Ciaz and the Ertiga have benefitted immensely in terms of sales following the introduction of the mild hybrid variants. Their sales got a fillip in Delhi-NCR, which had seen the odd-even scheme and the diesel ban. Additionally, the mild hybrids also fall under the purview of the FAME scheme, under which the government offers incentives of up to Rs 13,000 on mild hybrids.

Commenting on the new milestone, R S Kalsi, executive director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki, said, “As we move towards hybrid and electric cars, we see this as a first important step in this space. Both the Ciaz SHVS and Ertiga SHVS are high on fuel efficiency, come with reduced running costs and lower levels of CO₂ emission. The response we have received for the SHVS-equipped Ciaz and Ertiga encourages us to continue to invest in new technologies that support the environment while benefitting the customer.”

Ciaz SHVS, with a certified fuel efficiency of 28.09 kilometres a litre, tops the mileage chart in India while the Ertiga SHVS delivers 24.52kpl. Both vehicles are market leaders in their respective segments and account for over 60 percent of the domestic sales volume of the two models.

On July 20, 2016, in what could be seen as a bid to counter the growing uncertainties surrounding the future of diesel vehicles in India, Mahindra & Mahindra launched a new variant of the Scorpio equipped with its mild hybrid system called ‘Intelli-Hybrid’. This made it the third vehicle in India to be equipped with mild hybrid technology, after Maruti Suzuki’s Ciaz SHVS and Ertiga SHVS.

Also read: What really is a hybrid vehicle?