New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Limited will provide details of the fuel economy of its full range of 12 brands at its dealerships from today onwards.

''The voluntary disclosure of fuel economy' would enable customers to make an informed choice when purchasing a car in the market," said Shinzo Nakanishi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

Nakanishi said that the fuel economy figures were obtained in tests by premier automobile research institutions.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), at its annual convention held in New Delhi in September 2008, had announced a 'voluntary labeling programme for all member companies to make a voluntary disclosure of fuel efficiency by end of March 2009.

Maruti Suzuki has opted to implement the programme on the first day of the New Year.

Maruti Suzuki all its 12 brands tested at the three government approved test agencies: Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) Pune; Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) at Ahmednagar and International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT) at Manesar.

Test results:

The 'fuel consumption consumer information' labels displayed alongside the car models in the showrooms would prominently show the test result of fuel efficiency obtained under standard test conditions at the three test agencies.

Maruti Suzuki started the public announcement of fuel efficiency in November 2008, when it announced an extraordinary high fuel efficiency of 19.59 kilometer per litre of petrol, for the A-star.

The fuel efficiency for A-star is the highest amongst Maruti Suzuki's own range of petrol cars, the company said ina media statement, adding, that the A-star's efficiency "could well be the highest in the A2 segment petrol cars in the industry". The fuel efficiency of Swift Diesel and Swift Dzire Diesel at 21 kms to a litre of diesel, could also be best amongst the diesel cars in the industry, the company said.

Standard Test Conditions: The approved agencies conduct tests on all the cars under ''standard test conditions''. Amongst many parameters, the ''standard test conditions'' include: two persons in the car, AC switched-off; standard (non-adulterated) fuel; gear changes in a predetermined pattern and at predetermined acceleration levels; standard air pressure in the tyres, wind speed, etc.

As the ''standard test conditions'' during tests at the certification agency are identical for all vehicles, irrespective of manufacturer, customerw can make comparisons of fuel efficiency, across car models.

View: Auto videos | Auto picture galleries