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EPS version of Zen Diesel this week

Car-maker Maruti Udyog will launch this week an electronic power steering variant of its premium small car Zen Diesel, a company official said.

"The EPS version of the Zen will be launched this week. The price will be finalised very soon," the official said. The existing Zen Diesel car is priced at about Rs 378,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

He said Maruti would aggressively market the new vehicle in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab, which are the key states for diesel cars in the country.

Launched in August 1998, the diesel powered Zen is fitted with the 1527 cc TUD5 engine, supplied by Peugeot Citreon Moteurs of France, which delivers 57 brake horse power (bhp).

The move is believed to be part of the market leader's strategy to boost sales of the Zen Diesel by leveraging on the popular Zen brand, whose petrol variants have posted good sales despite strong competition from small cars launched by rival companies like Hyundai Santro, Daewoo Matiz and Tata Indica.

Maruti is an equal joint venture between the Indian government and Japan's Suzuki Motor Company. On the EPS system, the official said EPS is superior to the normal fluid power steering as it exerts only two per cent load on the engine, has virtually zero maintenance cost and has a self diagnosis mechanism to identify problems in the vehicle.

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