Toyota’s partnership with Suzuki’s Maruti division in India will reportedly spawn a rebadged version of the latter’s Ertiga MPV in August next year.
According to India’s Economic Times, the yet-as-unnamed model will follow the same route as the Suzuki Baleno-based Glanza and differ from the Ertiga in the replacing of Suzuki badges with Toyota ones along with subtle cosmetic tweaks.
In addition to the Ertiga, a third model will also exist based on the Vitara Brezza that currently tops the list of India’s best-selling SUV. This inclusion of the SUV from the second quarter of this year has however resulted in the end of the Etios nameplate with local Toyota importer, Kirloskar Motor, confirming that sales will come to an end next month, leaving the Glanza as the marque’s new entry-level model.
“We believe that important alliances such as ours, will pave the way for introduction of competitive and cutting-edge products and technologies in India, giving customers varied choices of products to meet their ever-growing expectations,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Senior Vice President, Naveen Soni, told the publication.
“The partnership complements each other’s thrusts on new technologies from the futuristic world of alternative and connected technologies that could drive the next generation of passenger vehicles”.
In a related article, indianautosblog.com reports that the Toyota badged Ertiga might be exported to markets outside India such as Africa, although no word on this claim from either manufacturer has been made.
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