Maruti Kizashi Set for February Launch in India

According to a recent Financial Chronicle report, the long-awaited Maruti Suzuki Kizashi will enjoy an official market launch on February 2nd in India. It will be imported directly from parent Suzuki Motor Corporation’s Japanese factories, sporting a pricetag of around INR17 million ($37,300).

"This (Kizashi) is our attempt to be future ready, as we believe the A4 and A5 segment (luxury) is going to grow. It is small at the moment but the way the economy is growing, this segment is going to be big," stated Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer, Mayank Pareek.

The sedan will use the Grand Vitara’s 2.4-liter petrol engine, mated to either an automatic or manual transmission. The Kizashi is available in an All Wheel Drive (AWD) variant internationally, but it is unlikely that this version will be launched in India. It will come in black, silver or white, but the bad news is, it will take up to 8 weeks for the Kizashi to be delivered from the time of booking.

Suzuki will import the Kizashi as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) form, but Maruti could consider local assembly if the sales volumes are good. It will no doubt be badged as a Suzuki for now, as Maruti is closely associated with smaller cars and not luxury products.

Pareek believes that the launch will not only increase sales for the company, but also fill a gap in its model lineup for an upper segment car. "There are nine million Maruti Suzuki customers at present. Many of them want to move up and have been asking after the SX4, what next? What we are doing here is to provide them options in luxury segment," Pareek said.