Toyota’s version of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga: What it could look like

Toyota and Suzuki strategical collaboration will soon bear fruit and a slew of new vehicles are expected to be launched in the global markets soon. The partnership will also play a major role in India and the market will get to see a number of new and rebadged models. The first vehicle that will be launched by the joint venture is the Toyota badged Maruti Suzuki Baleno and soon vehicles like Ciaz and Ertiga will be sold through the dealership network of Toyota.

A rendered image by MotorBeam shows what the upcoming rebadged Toyota Ertiga may look like. While Maruti Suzuki will provide vehicles to Toyota, the vehicles will receive changes that make them familiar to the Toyota family cars instead of Suzuki. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga seen here gets the front-end design inspired by the Toyota Rush, which is another SUV from Toyota but is not available in the Indian market.

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga’s second-generation model was launched in the Indian market last year. It gets powered by the all-new 1.5-litre petrol engine and 1.3-litre diesel engine. However, Maruti Suzuki will add the 1.5-litre diesel engine option to the Ertiga and when the BS-VI norms are implemented in India, the 1.3-litre engine will be discontinued. Toyota is expected to get only the 1.5-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engine options. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga offers Smart Hybrid System by Suzuki mild hybrid system with both 1.5-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine options but the new 1.5-litre diesel engine will not offer the SHVS system.

It should be noted that Toyota is expected to use the 1.5-litre petrol engine from Suzuki to power the next-generation Toyota Corolla in the Indian market and the manufacturer may also be working on a hybrid system for the engine. The full hybrid system developed by Toyota may make its way to the Ciaz and the Ertiga in the future too.

It should be noted that Toyota’s sub Rs. 10 lakh vehicles are not very popular in the Indian market. Their most popular vehicle is the Toyota Innova Crysta, which comes with a base price tag of Rs. 14.83 lakh. The rebadged version of the Ertiga will add a much more affordable MPV in the Indian market. Toyota is also working to launch all-new vehicles in the Indian market. As per reports, Toyota may launch the Avanza MPV in the Indian market that will bridge the gap between Toyota’s Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta in the market. There are also plans to launch the Rush SUV to take on the likes of Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson in the Indian market.

Toyota and Suzuki have partnered globally and will launch new products around the world but the impact on the Indian market will be quite interesting. Toyota is yet to launch a highly successful affordable in the Indian market while Suzuki is the pioneer in the segment. Both the manufacturers have also decided to work on an all-new Compact MPV that will be launched in the Indian market in the coming time.