Maruti Suzuki seven-seater SUV concept could spawn a production model sometime late next year or in 2021 to take on some established premium SUVs
On the back of the success endured by S-Presso and XL6, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has been working on a range of new products for next year. With the arrival of the stringent BSVI emission standards by April 1, 2020, the largest car producer in the country is planning to update its existing fleet of vehicles alongside debuting new ones.
The facelifted Vitara Brezza is already in the pipeline as evident from the spy shots and it will receive a petrol engine for the first time in its upcoming avatar. The S-Presso is positioned below the Vitara Brezza and it begs the question when Maruti Suzuki will enter the mid-size SUV segment or a segment above. We do expect Maruti Suzuki to display a seven-seater SUV concept at the 2020 Auto Expo.
Scheduled for early February, the biennial motoring show has been skipped by several manufacturers this time around but Maruti Suzuki has often used it as a launch platform to showcase the upcoming vehicles, technologies as well as concepts. The three-row concept could spawn a production version sometime during the later course of next year or in 2021.
It could be influenced by the bigger Vitara SUV sold in the international markets. Expect the SUV to be powered by petrol and diesel engines with BSVI compliance. Rumours of a mid-size SUV based on Vitara Brezza’s architecture have floated around the internet recently and they indicate that the five-seater would be co-developed with Toyota under their flourishing partnership.
Unlike the badge-engineered products, the mid-size SUV was said to have unique characteristics pertaining to the needs of each brand. The seven-seater SUV, on the other hand, is expected to compete against the likes of six-seater MG Hector, three-row Jeep Compass, next-generation Mahindra XUV500 bound for late 2020 and Tata Gravitas.
The premium SUV concept could signal the future design direction the brand would head towards and the interior will likely adorn upscale finish along with a large touchscreen infotainment system and less use of physical buttons.