New Delhi, April 22. (PTI): Problems can be pleasant at times and that is exactly what the country's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has discovered with its inability to meet the demand for diesel variant of its premuim hatchback 'Swift'.

With diesel cars becoming a favourite in the Indian automart, the company has been flooded with requests for the Swift's diesel variant, resulting in long waiting periods for the car.

Yet, the company is still laughing all the way to the bank as sales of the petrol variant have almost increased by 50 per cent after the introduction of the diesel variant.

When the Swift 1.3l diesel was launched earlier this year at an introductory price of Rs 4.68 lakh for the lower-end and Rs 4.96 lakh for the top-end model, the buzz in the market was that sales of its petrol sister would be badly hit.

"On the contrary, ever since we launched the Swift Diesel, sales of the petrol version have jumped," Maruti Udyog Managing Director Jagdish Khattar said.

Before the launch of the diesel variant, Swift was selling about 3,000 units a month. "Currently, we are selling about 4,500 units of the petrol variant and 2,500 units of Swift diesel," he said, adding that in March, Swift's total retail sales stood at 9,000 units.

Explaining the unusual situation, Khattar said Maruti's limited supply of the diesel variant was owing to a fixed number of engines allocated by Suzuki Powertrain India Ltd (SPIL), which has led to long waiting periods for the diesel variant.

"Many customers who came for the diesel variant are buying the petrol version as they would rather have a Swift than owning any other badge," he said.

And for those customers who are waiting for the diesel Swift, things are unlikely to change in the near future as according the annual plan of SPIL, Maruti Suzuki will continue to get limited engine supply.