Suzuki will unveil the next-gen Alto in October 2019. The first-ever Alto was shown globally in October 1979, hence, the Japanese carmaker plans to coordinate the next-gen model’s unveil so that it coincides with the Alto brand’s 40th anniversary.
Not to be confused with the India-spec Maruti Alto 800, the Suzuki Alto sold globally is a completely different car with unique styling. The current-gen Suzuki Alto made its debut in October 2014 and is available with a 660cc engine in multiple states of tune. The next-gen Suzuki Alto is likely to be built on the brand’s Heartect platform that currently underpins almost every new Suzuki hatchback introduced globally. The recently launched Wagon R for India is one of the latest cars to be underpinned by this architecture. The new Heartect platform is not just lighter, but also stiffer, which means the upcoming Suzuki Alto could perform even better than the outgoing car, especially in its sporty “Works” avatar that could come with a 64hp, 660cc engine. Suzuki is expected to showcase the next-gen Alto Works sometime in 2020.
Closer to home, the Maruti Suzuki Alto has been on sale since 2012, and is also expected to see a full-model change since the current-gen car will not clear the upcoming crash test norms that come into effect on October 2019.
Uday Singh
Lenny D'sa
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
