Maruti Suzuki has been the largest selling carmaker in India and there have been strong reasons for it. From affordable and value for money products to extensive service networks across the country, the brand has earned a loyal customer base which just won’t shift to any other brand.
For long, Maruti Suzuki has held more than fifty percent share of India’s passenger vehicle market. Only recently, the Indo-Japanese joint venture’s share dropped below the fifty percent mark. Even then the carmaker holds a comfortable edge over all other compatriots. We look at what new offerings the company will bring in to India in the coming months.
S-Cross Petrol
The next big launch for Maruti Suzuki is going to be the S-Cross with a BS6 compliant engine. The crossover in its updated form will ditch the 1.3-litre multijet diesel engine and will be replaced by the 1.5-litre K-Series naturally aspirated petrol engine. This engine produces 105 PS of power and 138 Nm of peak torque and is also offered in the BS6 Vitara Brezza and Ciaz. It will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard with the option of a 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission. The S-Cross will also offer a mild-hybrid tech on the automatic variants. Apart from the powertrain update, there isn’t going to be any other update in the upcoming S-Cross. It is scheduled to be launched at the end of July 2020.
Swift Facelift
The Swift is probably one of the most-sold cars in the Maruti Suzuki lineup and it comes as no surprise that the expected facelift variant has been gaining a lot of hype. The hatchback is also one of the most promising cars available outside India with the facelift already launched in Japan. The new Swift facelift is expected to be powered by the BS6 updated 1.2-litre DualJet petrol engine that is capable of generating up to 90Ps of power and 113Nm of torque. In addition to it, it is also expected to offer a mild-hybrid system as offered in the Japanese spec launched a couple of months ago. The transmission duties will be carried out either by a 5-speed manual or an AMT. The Swift facelift will make its way to the Indian market early next year.
XL5
The XL5 had been in the pipelines for Maruti Suzuki. The car has been spotted testing on multiple occasions including just recently. The XL5 is slated to be the more premium version of the popular hatchback WagonR and will be retailed through the Nexa chain. The car gets a split headlamp setup, a tweaked air dam on the front bumper, with the fog lamps positioned on either end, a sleek grille, and some small changes at the rear to make it look slightly different than the Wagon R.
As far as powertrain is concerned, it will be offered with the same 1.2-lite petrol unit which is offered in the higher variants of the WagonR. Also, some reports suggest that the upcoming XL5 will sport a three-row configuration although nothing has been confirmed about it. One can expect the XL5 to be launched by the end of this year.
WagonR EV
The prototypes of Maruti Suzuki’s Wagon R EV have been doing trials across the country for long and it is expected to be launched sometime later this year or in 2021. Maruti is already testing the EV on Indian roads to collect data and evaluate whether it is capable of taking on the different weather and road conditions in the country. Maruti is also working on a Lithium-ion battery plant to produce the best possible power sources for the electric WagonR.
Jimny
The Jimny is one of the most highly anticipated products in India. Ever since Maruti Suzuki had discontinued the Gypsy in 2018, the loyal Maruti customers had been vocally requesting the maker to add a proper off-roader to its product portfolio in India. While it has been confirmed that the three-door version which is sold at the international markets will not be offered in India, there are still question marks whether a conventional 5-door SUV will be offered in India or not. Hopefully, we will see the Jimny in some form sooner than later. If it does come to India, it will be offered with a 1.5-litre K-Series petrol engine that produces 105 PS of power and 138 Nm of peak torque.
Also READ: Maruti Suzuki XL5 Spotted Testing
Futuro-E
Maruti Suzuki revealed the Futuro-e concept car at the Auto Expo 2020. The Futuro-e is designed to look like a coupe and has some extremely sharp lines across the entire body of the vehicle. A production model based on this concept, which will compete against the likes of the Creta, is expected to be introduced by 2022.
