The country’s passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has said that the new Baleno will be made in India for both domestic and global market.
The yet-to-be launched car will be the second such car from the company to make it to the global markets, after the A-Star (which the company no more manufactures), said RS Kalsi, Executive Director – Marketing and Sales.
“We will be manufacturing the Baleno for the entire world from our Manesar (Haryana) plant. The product is around 99 per cent localised here,” Kalsi told
He said the car will be exported to more than 100 markets, including Japan, after a couple of months following the global launch in India on October 26. For the first time in Indian history, the car will also be exported to Japan as well.
This will be the second such car to be sold at the company’s Nexa showrooms after the recently launched S-Cross.
Kalsi said the car’s entire design, technology, and innovations meet global standards.
The new car will have features such as Apple CarPlay, which enables Apple devices to get synced so that it becomes easier for the driver to operate the smartphone.
The sub-four meter car will also have features such as ultraviolet (UV) cut glasses, which can reduce the UV rays by up to 85 per cent.
It will have dual airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and seatbelts with pre-tensioners and force limiters as standard fitment from the base variant onwards.
The company, along with its vendors, have spent ₹1,060 crore on design, development and categorisation of the components, Kalsi said.
The car has taken four years to take shape with Indian engineers working with the team from Suzuki Japan, he said. With such offerings, including better mileage (21.4kmpl for 1.2 petrol engine and 27.39 kmpl for 1.3 diesel engine), Kalsi said the MSIL was looking at Baleno to be a leader in the Indian market in its segment.
The latest car from MSIL’s stable will be competing with the likes of Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo, which accounts for 5-5.25 lakh units in a year.
Meanwhile, the company has opened bookings of the Baleno starting Tuesday with a booking amount of ₹11,000. While the petrol variant will be available in five trims, the diesel version will be available in four trims.
The writer is in Jaipur at the invitation of Maruti Suzuki India