With the Pune-based Automobile Research Association of India testifying that the Tata Nano consumes less fuel, in comparison to the other available economical small car models, market leader Maruti Suzuki has lost its thus-far-unchallenged position as the manufacturer of the most fuel-efficient car!

The agency, which tests all the commercially-launched cars in India, has declared that with an average of 23.6 km per litre (kmpl) of petrol, under standard test conditions, Nano - the most-economical car priced Rs. 1.2 lakh in Delhi - is the most fuel-efficient car among the 450 models available.

Nonetheless, Maruti Suzuki, with an average of 19.6 kmpl, managed a decent second spot with its A-Star fuel-efficiency figure. Tied in the third spot are Maruti Alto and Hyundai i10, with fuel-efficiency of 18.1 kmpl.

The most fuel-efficient car in the 'diesel' cars category is Hyundai's Verna sedan, with an average of 21.9 kmpl; followed by Tata Indigo Dicor in the second place with 21.4 kmpl; and Maruti Swift in the third place with 21 kmpl.

Since fuel efficiency is the foremost factor influencing customer car-preference in India, an unnamed Maruti official said: "We have been driving the market by marketing the high fuel efficiency of our cars. Every company is trying to maximize performance by adopting technologies that utilize every drop of fuel to deliver high fuel efficiency."