The rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga could go on sale as early as next year while a C-segment MPV is also said to be in the works for the future
The second rebadged product from the Toyota-Suzuki partnership came about just a couple of days ago as the Urban Cruiser debuted in India with a starting price of Rs. 8.40 lakh (ex-showroom). The compact SUV is based on the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza in every way and it gets minor styling updates to differentiate itself from its donor.
Midway through last year, Toyota Kirloskar Motor launched the Glanza and it is currently the third best-selling premium hatchback in the country every month behind Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai Elite i20. Its sales tally has been decent over the last year or so and the discontinuation of the Etios twin due to the stringent BSVI emission standards certainly shrunk the brand’s lineup.
The Urban Cruiser is expected to fare better as the segment is one of the highly popular spaces in recent years and we will have to wait and see how it goes in the sales charts in the coming months. Next up, Toyota will more likely debut the rebadged version of the Ertiga sometime next year. The Ertiga has undoubtedly been the MPV segment leader in India courtesy of its high volume nature.
It makes all the sense for Toyota to bring up a badge engineered Ertiga as its successful model in the domestic market, the Innova Crysta, is also an MPV. As for the performance, the seven-seater will likely use the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder SHVS petrol engine that can also be found in the Ertiga as well as the Vitara Brezza based Urban Cruiser.
It is good enough to generate a maximum power output of 104.7 PS at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm of peak torque delivered at 4,400 rpm. The powertrain will be paired with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed torque converter automatic transmission. Whether the CNG version of the rebadged Ertiga will cater to the taxi market or not is yet unknown.
The Japanese duo is also co-developing a C-segment MPV that will slot between the Ertiga and Innova Crysta and it could be launched in 2023 following the arrival of the Toyota Raize based mid-size SUV in 2022 to rival Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.