Production Maruti XA Alpha rendered by the European media

13/05/2013 - 16:15 | Maruti Suzuki | Shrawan Raja

Auto Motor Und Sport has released an artist rendering of the Suzuki XA Alpha Concept's production avatar sensing that the India-specific model could launch in Europe in the future.

Despite a whole year passing since its premiere at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo, there's very few details on XA Alpha's journey to production. Maruti took just two years to commercialize the R3 Concept into the Ertiga. In the previous edition of the show, they unveiled the A-Star Concept less than ten months prior to its start of its production. The XA Alpha has taken a lot longer to near production compared to past Maruti Suzuki concepts.

Maruti XA Alpha production version render
This is Auto Motor Und Sport's rendering of the new lifestyle SUV meant for Indian consumption.

As for the branding Maruti should leverage on the daring image of the Gypsy to give maximum traction to this product. Maruti need not look up new names as the Gypsy is one of the celebrated nameplates in the Indian SUV market.

Maruti is said to be using the Swift's mechanical package to underpin the new sub-4m SUV. Being a front wheel drive layout, there may not be anything here for the off-road junkies. Unlike the Alto 800 which has a regional appeal, the XA's styling has to be similar in quality or type to global urban crossovers like the Nissan Juke or the Ford EcoSport as this segment will witness heavy participation in the coming years. There's no doubt that Maruti has to produce an SUV of international design standards that has to cut it for customers moving from their hatchbacks and sedans.

Maruti Suzuki Concept XA Alpha front fascia
The Maruti XA Alpha was the company's sub-4m SUV concept at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo.

Maruti have a choice of 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter petrol engines as well as the Fiat 1.3L Multi-jet engine to power their future products. By mid-decade Maruti's 'Earth Dreams' would be ready for production going by recent media reports.

An in-house engine would give them better financial returns in the long run as well as flexibility to adapt engines in accordance to its applications better with less complications. For example, Maruti can develop a 1.5-liter diesel engine that has four cylinders, and the same engine family can have a three-cylinder version for B- or A-segment products.

Maruti Suzuki Concept XA Alpha rear three quarters
Styling to international standards is not an option as heavy competition from all corners is coming in the next two years.

At this point we're still speculating on the outcome, but we do expect the quality and finish seen on the Swift platform models to cascade into the XA Alpha as that appears to be the direction Maruti's heading into. We expect the seats and dashboard to be shared with XA Aplha, perhaps using a different color combinations.

Maruti Suzuki Concept XA Alpha at 2012 Delhi Auto Expo
Maruti is reportedly working on its own 'Earth Dreams' diesel tech. K Series petrol engines can find application without any serious modifications.

We don't expect the XA Alpha to launch before the end of 2014 or early 2015, though we'd be delighted to be proven wrong.

[Source - Auto-motor-und-sport.de]

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