Toyota Belta production begins ahead of launch

A few months ago, a grille of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz with Toyota’s logo was leaked online. Then Toyota filed a trademark for the Belta nameplate. This led everyone to believe that the Japanese manufacturer will be launching their version of the Ciaz. Well, now a picture of the Toyota Belta has been leaked online in which we can clearly see the Toyota badge on a Ciaz. This means that the production of the new rebadged sedan has started at the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki. In the pictures, we can see that the Belta is finished in red colour. We can expect Toyota to soon launch the new mid-size sedan.

The Belta will be the third vehicle by Toyota that has been rebadged. Toyota first launched the Glanza in the Indian market which is a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Then they launched the Urban Cruiser which is a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.

The rebadged vehicles are helping Toyota in increasing its portfolio. The manufacturer did not have a compact SUV in their line-up and Urban Cruiser helped Toyota with it. The Etios and the Etios Liva was discontinued last year because of BS6 emission norms. The Glanza is a hatchback so it replaced the Etios Liva in the line-up.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki Discounts on Nexa cars for March 2021: Baleno to Ciaz

Toyota does have a mid-size sedan in their line-up. It is called Yaris and it competes against the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid. Yaris is not doing well since it was first launched in the Indian market despite Toyota giving it an update. The Japanese manufacturer might discontinue the Yaris and replace it with the Belta. As of now, it is not clear what will happen to the Yaris.

Usually, Toyota does differentiate their rebadged vehicles from Maruti Suzuki vehicles by giving a different face. However, from the picture that has been leaked the Belta has the same grille and the bumper that we have seen on the Ciaz. So, there is a possibility that Toyota might change the look of the cabin as they did with the Urban Cruiser.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza comes with a black interior whereas Toyota has offered the same cabin design, same black dashboard, but the upholstery is finished in a tan brown colour which looks slightly more premium than the regular black upholstery. So, Toyota might give a different colour for the upholstery. As of now, the Ciaz comes with a black and beige dashboard and beige upholstery.

Mechanically, Belta will be identical to the Ciaz. So, it will come with a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 105 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 138 Nm. You can get it with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.

The feature set will also stay the same as the Ciaz. There will be automatic climate control, cruise control, push-button to start/stop the engine, keyless entry, a touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, LED headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lamps, multi-information display, LED tail lamps and much more.

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