Maruti Baleno India-spec officially revealed, with details

Baleno will be Maruti Suzuki’s first attempt in the premium compact segment (it will be positioned above the “Swift” hatchback) and will make a debut in India on October 26. With the new Baleno, set to launch this month as well, Nexa will have a second offering and Maruti would want to keep the pricing more competitive this time as the Baleno will take on the segment leader, Elite i20.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is based on the company’s new-generation platform that has been built to efficiently increase vehicle’s rigidity while reducing its weight via redesign of the under-body structure and optimising overall vehicle design. “Likewise, our aspirations are that we would be assuming leadership position in this premium hatchback segment as well”, MSI Executive Director (M&S) RS Kalsi told PTI. India is the sole manufacturing base for Baleno and it will be exported to over 100 countries, including Japan.

The premium compact segment now comprises 20% of the total domestic passenger vehicle market.

The newly launched Baleno is expected to conpete with Hyundai i20 which has already passed its pre booking for its new vehicle.

We expect the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Baleno to come with a price tag of Rs 5 lakh – Rs 9.5 lakh (ex showroom Delhi). The company’s production facilities are fully geared up to supply “whatever the demand comes from the market”, he added. Industry data for July and August shows that Maruti sold a total of 6,112 units of the S-Cross in the first two months.

Meanwhile, the company has opened bookings of the Baleno starting Tuesday with a booking amount of ₹11,000. “The 80 Nexa showrooms that we will have by the end of the month are owned by such dealers who, on an average, have three Maruti showrooms each. So, in a way, we have a synergy of around 320 outlets as far as the catchment area is concerned”, said Kalsi.

The Baleno diesel will be powered by the 1.3-liter DDiS engine, while petrol version will be powered by 1.2 litre VVT engine and a 5-speed manual and CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox.