Maruti Suzuki will be expanding its premium portfolio with the launch of three new vehicles and as much facelifts of existing models
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has big plans for the domestic market to maintain and increase its more than 50 percent share, and capitalise on new segments. In the last three years, the Nexa premium dealerships have contributed to huge volume and dismissed the myth of Maruti Suzuki being a small car manufacturer.
The S-Cross was accompanied by Baleno and Ignis in Nexa’s initial phase, before Maruti Suzuki strategically shifted the sales of Ciaz from regular Arena network in April 2017. Following the launch of the impending facelifted Ciaz and the new generation Ertiga, the largest automaker in the country is devising a major assault of premium vehicles and here we got a lowdown of the new Nexa car launches:
The first and the long-awaited of this list has to be the Swift Sport. It is expected to be launched in February-March 2019 period and will more likely come with a number of standard equipment. They include sporty semi bucket seats, contrast accents on the interior, 17-inch polished alloy wheels, Suzuki’s 1.4-litre turbocharged Boosterjet engine developing 140 PS and 230 Nm of peak torque delivered as low as 2,500 rpm, etc.
Tipping the weighing scale at 975 kg, it is claimed to accelerate from zero to 100 kmph in just 8.1 seconds and can top out 209 kmph in international markets. Under the strategic Suzuki-Toyota alliance, the Corolla sedan will be supplied to Suzuki and the cross-badging will facilitate necessary cosmetic changes. Expected to debut in May-June 2019, it will mark the re-entry of Maruti Suzuki in the premium sedan segment after the dismal run of Kizashi.
The Vitara SUV has already been spotted in India a couple of times this year and it will be the first SUV to feature at Nexa showrooms. While its launch timeline can be sometime late next year, it is believed to make a strong impact in the compact SUV space by rivalling the likes of Hyundai Creta, Mahindra XUV500 and Jeep Compass.
Besides the three huge launches at Nexa, Maruti Suzuki will also be updating its current crop of vehicles. In the midst of the facelifted Ciaz launching this month with substantial exterior updates and feature additions, the best-selling Baleno premium hatchback will adorn minor changes as early as March 2018. It is in response to the Hyundai Elite i20 that graced the market earlier this year with cosmetic revisions.
Since launching the facelifted S-Cross late last year, Maruti Suzuki has witnessed growing demand for the crossover. Its average monthly sales stands at over 4,000 units between October 2017 and July 2018. To address the obvious lack of petrol engine in its range, the company will be introducing the 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine with SHVS mild-hybrid technology in July 2019.
It produces 104.7 PS at 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm in the upcoming Ciaz and Ertiga. The Ignis urban runaround will also see a minor update by June 2019 as exterior tweaks can be expected with largely no mechanical changes.