The company and its suppliers have invested over Rs 600 crore towards development of the vehicle over a period of four years.
"There is a segment of customers in India who want power and performance in their vehicle, but also the comfort and refinement of a sedan. It is in that spirit today, we are launching S-Cross," MSI Managing Director & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa told reporters here.
The S-Cross will be available only in diesel engine options of 1.6 litre and 1.3 litre.
It's positioned to take on Hyundai's newly-launched SUV Creta and Renault's popular SUV Duster, which are priced between Rs 9.12 lakh and Rs 12.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for comparable engine variants.
Built on a brand new platform, the S-Cross has various features, including cruise control, rain sending auto wipers, self-adjusting hydraulic clutch and rear seat recliner.
S-Cross will be sold from the company's newly-launched Nexa showrooms.
Nexa is the new chain of showrooms that MSI has set up in order to sell its premium products.
Maruti is looking to extend its leadership in India by entering new segments.
It has stated that launching of the crossover vehicle and setting up of Nexa network are the first few steps to meet its target of selling two million units annually by 2020.
