Maruti offers automatic option in Baleno top-end variant

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today introduced automatic (CVT) option in the top-end Alpha trim of its premium hatchback Baleno, priced at Rs 8.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
The company already sells Delta and Zeta variants of the model with continuously variable transmission (CVT).
With this launch, customer looking to buy an automatic Baleno will get hi-end features including the smartphone linkage display audio that works with Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink, a company official said.
Since its launch in October 2015, the company has sold over 2 lakh units of Baleno. The vehicle crossed the 1 lakh unit sales milestone in less than a year.

In March this year, MSI had also launched the Baleno RS, a sporty version of the Baleno, marking its entry in the high performance segment.
Currently, Baleno is being exported to over 100 countries and is the first car from MSI being shipped to Japan.

Over 68,000 units of the hatchback have been exported across the world including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and several parts of Europe and Latin America.
MSI has been trying to introduce models with various kind of automatic technologies in the domestic market.
For the company, contribution of two pedal technology has increased from 6 per cent in 2014-15 to 11 per cent in 2016- 17.

The company aims to double the two-pedal contribution from the current levels of around 1.5 lakh units to 3 lakh units mark by 2020.
MSI sells models like Celerio, Wagon R, Alto K-10, Ignis and Dzire with auto gear shift technology, two variants of Baleno with CVT and Ciaz and Ertiga with automatic (AT) transmissions.