Maruti to launch its own alternate for Innova in collaboration with Toyota

So far, as part of this collaboration, Toyota sells its Glanza which is the Baleno alternative and the Urban-cruiser which is nothing but a Toyota-branded Brezza

Maruti Suzuki's next launch for India may be just as consequential as the Jimny, if not more. The country's largest car manufacturer is preparing its own version of the best-selling multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in the country, Toyota's Innova. The vehicle will be built as a part of the Toyota and Suzuki collaboration.

In 2017, the two companies came together in what can be termed the most significant alliance in the global automotive industry. As part of the deal, Toyota and Suzuki have agreed to leverage each other's products to multiply their sales.

So far, as part of this collaboration, Toyota sells Glanza and Urban Cruiser which are the alternatives for Maruti's Baleno and Brezza. It is clear that Toyota wants to leverage Maruti's best-selling products to increase its sales in the Indian market.

However, this time around, Maruti Suzuki is using Toyota's ace MPV Innova. The vehicle is expected to be launched by the name of Engage on July 5, an Autocar India (ACI) report said.

Where will the new MPV be built?

The latest MPV will be manufactured at Toyota's Bidadi plant. The vehicle is likely to get minor styling touch-ups to make the exteriors a little different from the Innova. However, the differences will be negligible. Just how different is Glanza from Baleno?

The upcoming Maruti MPV will be placed at the top of its line-up and will likely be sold at Maruti's premium Nexa outlets. When on sale, this MPV will be Maruti's most-expensive vehicle on sale.

How different it would be from the Innova?

While the differences will be cosmetic in nature, Maruti appears to have made efforts to differentiate it from its Toyota cousin. MS will give its MPV a bigger grille with a honeycomb mesh design, ACI reported.

The vehicle will also get a large Suzuki logo at the centre of its front grille if that counts as a differentiator.

The Maruti Suzuki MPV is likely to get the same engine and transmission as the Toyota Innova Hycross. This includes the 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 173hp and a hybrid that returns 183hp. These engines are offered with CVT or e-CVT.