After Baleno-based Glanza, Toyota to launch rebadged Maruti Brezza, Ertiga & Ciaz

Toyota had launched the Maruti Suzuki Baleno based premium hatchback, the Glanza, yesterday. As was being said earlier, the car sports only nominal changes compared to the Baleno and in a way it is the same car. Toyota, however, has its plans for future set clear and is working on introducing three new Maruti Suzuki based vehicles in the coming time. Moreover, all three of them will be from different segments and will target a different set of buyers.

The three cars we are talking about the Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and the Ciaz. Toyota will launch the rebranded version of these three cars in a similar manner as seen with the Glanza. They will be given different names and will probably get a 3 year/1 lakh km warranty. The Toyota branded Ciaz is likely to replace the Yaris from the Japanese manufacturer’s model lineup in India. The Yaris has been a dull seller among the C-segment sedans and its sales have not picked up despite getting huge discounts offers.

Render courtesy IAB

Toyota has decided that it will focus its strength towards the premium segment market. For the sub-10 lakh price segment, it will continue with its recent policy of rebranding Maruti cars. Toyota is not looking at big sales numbers with these rebranded cars. Instead, it wants to keep the ball rolling while it shifts its strategy towards the premium market where its vehicles like the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner have been doing pretty good.

Both the Ertiga and the Vitara Brezza belong to segments which have been registering good sales for almost all brands. Therefore, Toyota will wet its beak too without getting into the whole process of making an all-new car.

If speculations are to be believed, Toyota will bring the Rush to India in the coming time which will further strengthen its position in the premium segment. It will be positioned around the Rs. 15 lakh price mark and will be a crossover SUV. Rumours about the Alphard being considered for India have been doing rounds as well but the Alphard is something that has been coming here since 2010.

Talking about the Glanza, the prices of this newly launched car start at Rs. 7,21,990 for the base G MT variant while the top V CVT variant is priced at Rs. 8,90,200. It rivals the Hyundai Elite i20, Maruti Suzuki Baleno and the Honda Jazz in its segment. The petrol engines it comes with are both 1.2-litre petrol units from Maruti Suzuki, the same ones that are found on the Baleno. The 1.2-litre petrol churns out 82 Bhp of power along with 112 Nm of torque. The second engine option is the 1.2-litre, K12C DualJet engine with a mild-hybrid system. This engine produces 89 Bhp of power and 113 Nm of torque but is only available on the G trim variants. Both the engines get a 5-speed manual transmission with the non-hybrid engine getting a CVT box too