Toyota Glanza Is The New Maruti Suzuki Baleno — One Down And Three To Go!

Japanese auto giants Toyota and Suzuki signed a partnership last year that allowed for technology and cars to be exchanged between the two at a global level. We know that Toyota will re-badge and sell four of Maruti Suzuki's segment leading cars - the Brezza, the Baleno, the Ertiga, and the Ciaz.

Toyota has lined up the Baleno to be the first launch of the global deal. The Toyota Baleno is scheduled for late April launch. This partnership allows for Toyota be make its presence felt in a volume rich segment in the Indian markets.

According to Rushlane, production of the Toyota Glanza has started at the Suzuki facility in Gujarat. The facility set up by Suzuki Motor Corporation will manufacture and sell cars to its Indian subsidiary Maruti Suzuki. This facility will also manufacture and sell the Toyota badged Baleno to Toyota Kirloskar Motors during the initial phases of the launch.

We also know now, that manufacture of the Toyota Glanza will be moved to one of the two facilities owned by Toyota Kirloskar Motors. The facilities are Bangalore based and the production will start there as soon as the automaker finalizes sources for components. This move will increase Toyota's capacity utilization and also allow for Suzuki Motors to concentrate on manufacture for Maruti's high demand.

The Toyota Glanza will be available in Alpha and Zeta trims although the names of variants could see a change. The car will feature a 1.2-litre K12B petrol engine that produces 83ps and 115Nm of torque. The engine may be mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission or a Constant Variable Transmission.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno recently received an a newer K12C engine that features the Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS) system. We have no confirmation if the Toyota Glanza will receive the same upgrades.

While most of the features between the Baleno and the Glanza are expected to be the same, the Toyota Glanza will feature a re-worked front grille and bumper to give it more 'Toyota identity'. The Toyota Glanza will compete with the Hyundai i20, and the Honda Jazz once launched.

Prices of the Toyota Glanza are expected to be higher than that of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno.

Thoughts About A Toyota Re-branded As A Maruti-Suzuki

It will be interesting to see what these two auto giants can come up with in the future. The Baleno for the Glanza. Three more cars to be swapped we guess. Any bets?