Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy MD N Raja had confirmed at the start of this year that their version of the Maruti Baleno will arrive in the second half of the year. According to a new report from Autocar India, this model is codenamed 'A11' and will be launched by June.
The Toyota-badged Maruti Baleno's components supply has already been initiated by the suppliers. The A11 hatchback will be rolling out from Toyota's Bidadi plant in Karnataka. Its design will be a little different from that of the donor car, with changes expected to the lights, grille and bumpers.
In terms of mechanicals, the new Toyota A11 may receive any of two petrol engines which currently power the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. The latter currently draws power from a 1.2-litre K-series petrol and a 1.0-litre Boosterjet turbo-petrol engine. Apart from that, it will soon be available with the new 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine featuring Smart Hybrid.
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Other than Baleno, the new partnership will include a cross-badged version of the Maruti Ertiga, Maruti Vitara Brezza and Maruti Ciaz, which will be sold in India and African markets. Toyota and Suzuki will also work towards developing a new Toyota C-segment MPV on the basis of a Suzuki platform. Both the brands will also be sharing major technologies to make out the best of this partnership. For instance, Toyota’s hybrid system will be used by Suzuki. In return, Suzuki will supply small petrol engines for Toyota’s compact vehicles.
[Source: autocarindia.com]
