Maruti Engage MPV will go on sale around July this year and will be sold through Nexa premium dealerships
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has confirmed launching an all-new seven-seater vehicle within the next two months or so. MSIL’s chairman R.C. Bhargava told in a recent interview that Toyota will supply 9,000 to 10,000 units of the upcoming premium MPV per year from its Bidadi production facility in Karnataka to Maruti Suzuki as part of their alliance.
The MPV could be christened the Engage as the name has been trademarked or it could be used for the seven-seater version of the Grand Vitara coming by 2025. The Engage will more likely become the first cross-badged Toyota supplied to Maruti Suzuki. The largest car producer in the country already supplies Baleno, Ciaz and Ertiga and in India, the badge-engineered Baleno is sold as Toyota Glanza.
Toyota used to retail the rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza under the Urban Cruiser nameplate. The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder has several commonalities with the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara as well (mechanical bits, platform, features and interior). With the supply agreement of only 10,000 units per year, we do not expect the Engage MPV to have as expansive a range as the Innova Hycross it is based on.
It is interesting to note that Toyota has temporarily stopped bookings for the top-spec strong hybrid variants of the Innova Hycross due to supply issues and high demand. However, it will ramp up the production to reduce the waiting period for the Innova Hycross, Hyryder and Fortuner along with the Grand Vitara, which is also rolled out at TKM’s Bidadi plant.
The Indo-Japanese manufacturer will position the Engage MPV in an upmarket manner and thus it will be sold exclusively through Nexa outlets. Moreover, only the 2.0L strong hybrid petrol engine capable of a claimed mileage of over 21 kmpl could be utilised. It produces around 186 PS and 206 Nm and is paired with an e-CVT only.
The Maruti Suzuki Engage MPV is also said to have visual updates to the grille and changes to the interior, unlike the major design differences between the Grand Vitara and Hyryder. The flagship MPV will certainly be positioned well above the Ertiga and XL6 and will become the first Maruti Suzuki to feature ADAS technology.