Tata Safari & Harrier To Get Diesel Hybrid Engine? All Details Here

Published: Friday, July 4, 2025, 21:32 [IST]

Tata Motors recently secured the rights to produce and enhance Fiat's 2.0-litre Multijet II diesel engine, which powers the Harrier and Safari SUVs. This engine is manufactured under a partnership between Tata Motors and Stellantis in Ranjangaon. Although Stellantis retains intellectual property rights, Tata can now independently modify the engine's design and performance.

Though Delhi Government temporarily lifted the fuel ban citing technical challenges and public outrage, older cars, especially diesel cars continue to be widely considered as "Environmental Hazards". However, SUVs generally perform better with torquey diesel engines.

The Dilemma

With this automakers are in complete dilemma - Either automakers must switch to a complete petrol powertrain portfolio to please the "Authorities" or satisfy consumers with a torquey diesel engine with fear of "Diesel Ban".

However, with the rights secured to enhance the Fiat's 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine Tata Motors will be solving 3 major hurdles in single shot - Customise powertrain charecteristics, Improve emissions, and Close the gap to Mahindra in terms of output numbers.

Custom Tune Is Expensive

As we already know, any customisation to the powertrain as a customer company requires a lot of money, and by securing the rights to customise the engine, Tata Motors will not be able to custom tune the engine at a much cheaper cost, but it also allows the company to have additional fexibility in terms of number of engine tunes.

Competition

To put that into perspective, the Mahindra's 2.2-litre diesel engine is used in models such as Thar, Thar Roxx, Scorpio Classic, Scorpio N, and XUV700. In the Mahindra Scoprio N and XUV700 alone, this engine is available in 4 different states of tune (130hp, 172.5, 153hp, and 182hp) - Better suiting the unique characteristics of the model.

In contrast, the 2.0-litre, Multijet diesel engine in the Tata Harrier and Safari produce 167.6hp. This deficiet not only looks dull on paper, but it can also sway the interest of customer who is looking forward to buy a Rs 25 Lakh SUV. Also, many have criticised Tata Motors for lack of powertrain options for the Tata Safari and Harrier despite both being the flagship offerings from the automaker.

Hybrid

Just tuning the engines to produce more power won't make the cut as emissions and reliability may take a significant hit in this process. So, integrating a hybrid system to this powertrain could do wonders to this powertrain. In fact, we expect such a move to not only boost power output, but also the fuel efficiency.

In fact, the Hybrid Diesel engine concept is not new and Maruti Suzuki has successfully implemented this technology. The hybrid version of the Ciaz returned an ARAI rated mileage of 28.09km/l (vs 26.21km/l of the standard model).

That said, integration of a more powerful electric motor will not only help boost peak power, but also have postive impact on emissions, acceleration and low-speed manuverability.

Impact on Production

Tata brands this engine as Kryotec but will continue manufacturing it at FIAPL for both TMPV and Stellantis. A spokesperson clarified that while manufacturing agreements remain unchanged, development modifications by TMPV will rest with them.

It's uncertain if MG Motor India, another customer of FIAPL using this engine for Hector models, will access these upgrades. MG might discontinue offering a diesel option when launching the new Hector in 2026.

DriveSpark Thinks

This strategic move positions Tata Motors well within an evolving automotive landscape where emissions compliance is increasingly critical while maintaining relevance in segments demanding robust diesel engines. Also, the chances of Tata Motors launching the Safari Hybrid and Harrier Hybrid becomes a few steps closer to reality.