Toyota is all set to launch their badge engineered version of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno in the Indian market next week and some of the dealerships of the Japanese brand have already started accepting bookings of the car in India. Apart from the bookings, the car has started reaching the dealerships ahead of its launch date next month. For those who do not know, the upcoming Glanza is made at the same Gujarat facility that the Maruti manufactures its Baleno. After the launch in India, the Japanese carmaker also has the plans to ship its first badge engineered product in the Indian market to other developing markets.
The Glanza will be placed as a premium hatchback in the company’s product line-up and it will be placed above the Liva hatchback that the company already sells in India. However, the Glanza will be slightly higher priced than the Maruti Baleno in the Indian market as the Japanese carmaker is planning on only brining the two top variants of the hatch in the market. Toyota will sell the upcoming Glanza in two variants in the Indian market and these variants will be G and V.
The upcoming Glanza will be a petrol only car and will be sold with the option of both automatic as well as manual gearboxes in the Indian market. At the time of launch the company will introduce the car with the K12B 1.2L petrol engine that is rated to produce 82 Bhp and 112 Nm and the smart hybrid 1.2L petrol engine rated for 90 Bhp and 113 Nm. The transmission duties will be handled by a 5 speed manual and a CVT automatic gearbox, although the automatic variant will only be offered on the non-hybrid model. The mileage for the hybrid model stands at 23.87 km/l while the non-hybrid model will return a fuel efficiency of 21.01 km/l.
Toyota will not go the mass market way with their upcoming Glanza and will try to position it as a more premium offering in the segment with the badge of Toyota also adding to the reliability of the product. The company may offer a warranty of 3 years/1 lakh kms on the latest Toyota Glanza. The extended warranty program will take the period up to 5 years. Toyota also offers a 7-year Toyota Timeless warranty on their cars in India, however it is not confirmed whether Glanza will also come with the same. As far as the changes on Glanza are concerned, they are supposed to be minor and stylistic like changes on the grille and badging change. The interiors too will not be that different from Maruti Baleno.
The two Japanese companies are strengthening their ties in India under the new partnership and the same deal will see Toyota making the Vitara Brezza for Maruti and also receiving it for badge-engineering. Not just this, Toyota will also get the Ertiga and Ciaz for the badge-engineering process. In turn, Maruti Suzuki will get Toyota’s Corolla Altis sedan and the latter will also supply India’s largest car maker with hybrid technology.