With SUVs holding a 14 percent stake in the Indian car market, it comes as no surprise that Maruti Suzuki plans to eventually add an SUV to their lineup.
Brief: Maruti Suzuki unveils the 1.3-litre XA Alpha compact SUV at the New Delhi Auto Expo. It will eventually be made available in India in both diesel and petrol variants.
Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha debuts at New Delhi Auto Expo 2012
These plans were concreted earlier today at the New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 where Maruti Suzuki unveiled the XA Alpha SUV. At first glance it is obvious that the design language shares no underpinnings from the Suzuki Grand Vitara. In fact, it comes in a lot smaller and is more akin to the Range Rover Evoque.
The Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha Concept took about 10 months to develop and 5 Maruti engineers were involved in the project. Under the hood, a 1.3-litre petrol engine and an unknown litre diesel engine have been confirmed.
“India is set to become one of the top automobile markets of the world. This may become evident as early as the next Delhi Auto Expo. Maruti Suzuki will lead India’s automobile growth and evolution by strengthening its compact car portfolio, entering new segments and creating new product categories across fuel options. The Concept XA is designed for a market of customers with a young urban lifestyle. This Concept showcases the unified R&D efforts of Suzuki and Maruti which will be a big asset for us in India in the future,” said Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki, Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi.
With the Ford EcoSport SUV drawing much attention at the New Delhi Auto Expo thanks to its aggressive styling and 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine, Maruti Suzuki may be on the right track when it came to developing a more compact SUV instead of just rebranding the Suzuki Grand Vitara.
