Suzuki Planning a Toyota Corolla Rival

Suzuki has been largely known as the maker of some really well sorted out small cars. The car maker’s unsuccessful attempt at penetrating into the executive car segment with the Kizashi has surely left a sour taste in the mouth of many. Now, it has emerged that the Japanese brand is preparing to enter the upper midsize with a Toyota Corolla rival. It is being said that the upcoming sedan will be based on S-Cross SUV Paris Motor Show.

“There is a plan [for a small car],” Devers told CarAdvice. “Suzuki is a very conservative company, and we’re the only manufacturer to be profitable for 60 years in a row, because we don’t have too many peaks and troughs. But now Mr Suzuki has said to the R&D guys, ‘Let’s go’. So there’s going to be quite a few new cars coming through in the next few years. It’s got to be a genuine small car. The SX4 is in a league of its own. It’s a bit of a no man’s land. Let’s call it unique. The engine’s fantastic. [But] the dimensions are too small to be a genuine small car like Corolla, Civic, etc. We’re actually looking at repositioning [the SX4]. We know the car’s too good to represent the volume we’re doing. We’re doing about 2000 a year, we should be doing 8000 to 10,000 [in the small-car segment].”

Suzuki Australia sells approximately 25000 cars every year and Devers feels that new models, including those based on the S-Cross concept, will help with better sales and market presence.

It is expected that the upcoming  generation of SX4, which is larger and sits lower than the current car, will be repositioned to lock horns with the hot selling Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3. ‘Insiders’ say that the car’s styling will be heavily influenced by that of the flagship Kizashi sedan. On the inside, the car will sport styling cues from both the Swift and the Kizashi and safely expect the Japanese auto maker to make use of more premium materials. The new SX4 could be powered with new motors from Suzuki and the power output for the Indian version should be in tune of 120 bhp. Maruti Suzuki could also plan to bring a CVT transmission with the new sedan. The all new SX4 sedan should be here by the end of 2014.

It has also emerged that the Ertiga Mini MPV, which is a hot seller in India and Indonesia, won’t enter the Australian car market anytime soon.

Source – CarAdvice Australia

 

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