Toyota and Suzuki have decided to strengthen their business partnership created in February last year. The Japanese automakers have concluded an agreement that involves sharing some volume models in India. As a part of the new agreement, Toyota Kirloskar Motor will sell a rebadged Maruti Vitara Brezza in our market.
The announcement of a Toyota-badged Maruti Vitara Brezza for India comes as a surprise, as just last month, Toyota Kirloskar India MD Akito Tachibana had said that the company is considering a global SUV for our market, a model that would fall in the INR 10-15 lakh price range.
Toyota has an agreement with Suzuki to borrow not only the Maruti Vitara Brezza but also the Maruti Baleno. The Toyota Etios is a slow seller and the Toyota-badged Maruti Baleno would give the company an edge among the other B-segment hatchbacks. According to reports, it will source 30,000-50,000 units of the Baleno and Vitara Brezza from Suzuki.
Also Read: Toyota-Suzuki Electric cars coming to India in 2020
The agreement also states that Suzuki will source the Toyota Corolla petrol and Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Maruti Suzuki will hence finally have a successor to the Kizashi. It's unclear, though, whether it will get the eleventh generation model that is near the end of its lifecycle or the twelfth generation model expected to debut later this year.
According to the same report, Toyota will supply 10,000 units of the Corolla to Suzuki, which will serve as an ideal upgrade to Maruti Ciaz owners.
[Source 1: Toyota/Suzuki]
[Source 2: The Financial Express]
