Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. will soon be launching a new compact-SUV in the Indian market. This is being done by the manufacturer to regain the market share that has been lost to other compact-SUVs. Recently, there have been a lot of new compact-SUVs launched that have taken the market share of the Vitara Brezza. First, there was the Hyundai Venue, then the Kia Sonet and most recently Nissan Magnite has joined the race. Even Renault will be launching its Kiger which will be competing in the same segment. So, it makes sense for Maruti Suzuki to launch another compact-SUV that might help in regaining the lost market share.
According to reports from Livemint, the new compact-SUV is being called ‘YTB’ internally. It will basically be a heavily reworked version of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. So, it will use the same underpinnings as the Baleno. The new compact-SUV will be using Heartect platform and will be powered by the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. The engine is capable of producing 88 PS of max power and 113 Nm of torque. As standard, it will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Although there would also be an option of a CVT automatic gearbox. The people who first cited the new compact-SUV said that it looked like a coupe or a mini crossover. Maruti Suzuki is using the same platform, features and the engine as the Baleno because developing a new vehicle from scratch will cost them a lot more. So, it makes sense that Maruti Suzuki is sharing the components from the Baleno which is one of the best selling premium hatchbacks.
Also read: All-new 2020 Hyundai i20 premium hatchback: India-spec version REVEALED (Video)
“Internally, it’s been referred to as the ‘sister car’ of Baleno and companies often take this route to expand their product portfolio quickly. Maruti has already adopted this strategy successfully with XL6 and Ertiga. They definitely need a good number of SUVs in the portfolio to keep increasing their market share in the SUV segment,” said one of the two people who cited the new vehicle.
Maruti Suzuki also used the same strategy for the XL6 which is basically a much more attractive and premium version of Ertiga. The XL6 is being sold only through the Nexa dealerships as it is being marketed as a premium product. As the new vehicle will be priced below the Vitara Brezza, it is likely to be sold through the Maruti Suzuki Arena dealerships instead of the Nexa dealerships.
Currently, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is priced from Rs. 7.34 lakhs ex-showroom to Rs. 11.40 lakhs ex-showroom. When compared the competitors like Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue and Tata Nexon are able to undercut the Vitara Brezza by quite a margin. For some reason, Maruti Suzuki cannot decrease the price of Vitara Brezza. So, they are launching an all-new compact-SUV that will be competing with the lower-priced competitors. While the new vehicle will be powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine. The Vitara Brezza gets a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 104 bhp of max power and 138 Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. Maruti Suzuki YTB will be launching in 2022 along with the diesel engine of Vitara Brezza and other models.
Also read: Upcoming 2020 Hyundai i20 Magna spied before launch
