If you own an A-star, Ritz or the new Estilo, you are likely to

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save 10-15 per cent costs on servicing and petrol, according to Maruti Suzuki India.

Its new series of K10-B engines, which power these cars, help in increasing mileage and reducing engine oil change costs, according to a top official of the company.

“The KB series engine saves running costs of 2.4 km on every 15 km distance travelled and the engine oil needs to be changed only after every 10,000 km, as opposed to the present 5,000 km for other cars,” IV Rao, managing executive officer – engineering, Maruti Suzuki India, told Financial Chronicle on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.

Engine oil replacement costs around Rs 1,000 – including an oil filter change charge of Rs 100. Maruti’s cars without the KB series engines are due for an oil change after every 5,000 km, including an engine oil change when the car runs for the first 1,000 km.

Owners of the above mentioned three cars are required to replace the engine oil only once a year, or when the car covers a distance of 10,000 km (whichever comes first), thus saving Rs 1,000 of engine oil replacement cost every six months.

“The KB series engine can save costs up to 10-15 per cent more as compared with cars with our F10-D engine,” Rao said.

When asked about introducing the KB series engines in other Maruti cars, Rao said, “We are having different strategies for compliance to Bharat IV emission norms. The engine modification would vary on a model-to-model basis.” The Bharat IV emission norms are applicable in India’s major cities from April 1, 2010.

On Tuesday, Maruti Suzuki India also launched the new Estilo at an introductory price between Rs 3.12-3.95 lakh.

The car maker is targeting achieving a 10 per cent increase in sales this financial year over last year’s total of 722,000 units. “I think we can achieve sales of 800,000 units this financial year, which is 10 per cent over last year,” said Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and chief executive officer of the company.