Maruti Suzuki Planning MPV To Rival Innova

By Ganesh

Indian automobile sector leader and small car specialists Maruti Suzuki is working on developing a full size MPV that will take on segment leader, Toyota Innova. The rumored vehicle, codenamed RX is still quite sometime away from being production ready, which is unlikely to happen before 2017.

Toyota Innova, the best selling full fledged MPV in India is, by all estimates, unrivalled, which even the combined might of rival MPVs against it, has managed to be the best selling MPV ever since its launch in early 2000.

Also Read: 2013 Toyota Innova Facelift Launched - Details

maruti rx mpv

While small cars continue to dominate the Indian auto scene its growth has slowed down to a crawl. The utility car segment on the other hand, has witnessed tremendous potential, by growing as much as 52 percent in in 2012. It is thus imperative for Maruti Suzuki not to limit itself to small car business.

The rumor about the said Innova rivaling MPV from Maruti has surfaced following a report carried Live Mint. The publication was able to gain access to an internal Maruti document which talks about the appointment of Mr. C.V. Raman as the chief engineer of the new model RX.

Also Read: Honda Mobilio MPV Launch Confirmed For 2014

The news about model RX was further confirmed by people with knowledge about the project, including Maruti's supplier, to the publication.

According to these sources the Maruti MPV will be placed above the Ertiga, will be capable of carrying eight people and will be powered by a large capacity diesel engine, expected to be a 2.0 liter or larger. The engine for the RX is reportedly under development in Japan.

The vehicle is still far from conception, however, and the team is yet to decide whether or not the RX will be a proper MPV or a large crossover. As such, the Maruti Suzuki RX MPV will only expected to be launched in the second haf of 2016 or the beginning of 2017.

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Article Published On: Thursday, November 28, 2013, 15:50 [IST]
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