World premiere at Auto Expo 2016.
Autocar Professional reports that the Maruti Vitara Brezza will be exported from India to Middle Eastern, African and Latin American markets at a later time in its lifecycle. The sub-4m SUV will make its world debut at the Auto Expo 2016.
CV Raman, executive director of engineering at Maruti Suzuki India, has divulged that the company has the mandate for the past 3-4 years to develop models for Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. The Vitara Brezza, however, represents a significant step as it is the first Maruti product to have been fully-designed, engineered, developed and validated in India. Work on the Vitara Brezza started in mid-2011, and was given as a challenge by parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation.
The Vitara Brezza does not have any relation to the Suzuki Vitara that is sold in Europe, or the older Suzuki Grand Vitara.
For export markets, the Maruti Vitara Brezza will reportedly be powered by a K-Series petrol engine, which could be paired to manual and automatic transmissions. Diesel-friendly markets will get the Vitara Brezza with a Swift-borrowed 1.3-liter DDiS unit. In smaller cars like the Maruti Swift and Dzire, the engine develops 75 PS and 190 Nm of torque, while on larger cars such as the Maruti Ciaz and Maruti S-Cross, it produces 90 PS and 200 Nm.
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As for its market launch in India, the Maruti Vitara Brezza is expected to go on sale in March 2016, a month after its premiere at the Auto Expo 2016. Sales of the Maruti Brezza will be handled by Maruti’s regular chain of dealerships, and not the premium NEXA retailers.
[Source: Autocar Professional]
