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Maruti Suzuki India, which is manufacturing the Maruti Baleno-based hatchback for Toyota – called Glanza (from the German word ‘glanz’ meaning brightness), is understood to have dispatched 364 units of the rebadged model to Toyota Kirloskar Motor. This information can be gleaned from Maruti Suzuki’s April 2019 sales numbers under a new category ‘Sales to other OEM: A: Compact’ that were released yesterday.
A badge re-engineered Baleno, the Toyota Glanza first new product under its joint venture with Maruti Suzuki in India. It will be followed by the sharing of other cars. Last week, Toyota officially revealed the name of its new premium hatchback – the Glanza – accompanied by a teaser video of the car (or at least its right rear fender) ahead of its expected launch in June 2019.
The Glanza will look very similar to the Baleno, with Toyota expected to only make a few cosmetic changes. Images leaked of the undisguised car shows that the only cosmetic changes include a revised two-slat chrome grille with Toyota badging and new nomenclature on the tailgate. The rest of the car – even the alloy wheels as seen in the teaser – is exactly the same as the Baleno.
The cabin is expected to feature a few cosmetic changes, but like with the exterior, they are likely to be minor as well.
Two variants, only petrol power
Toyota will offer the Glanza with only a petrol engine, with gearbox options expected to be a 5-speed manual and a CVT unit. The engine will be a 1.2-litre unit – also sourced from Maruti – tuned to meet BS-VI regulations. However, it is unclear if the engine will be the new Dualjet unit that made its debut on the Baleno in India, or the older 1.2-litre unit shared by the Baleno, Swift, Dzire and new Wagon R.
The Toyota Glanza is expected to come in only two variants, which are likely to be equivalent to the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Zeta and Alpha trims. The spy images revealed the car to be badged 'V' – likely to be modelled after the Baleno’s top-spec Alpha trim – with the lower variant expected to be badged 'G'.
The Toyota Glanza variants are expected to cost a fair bit more than the Baleno variants on which they are based. This means the entry-level Glanza G trim is likely to sit much higher on the price chart than the base variants of its rivals like the Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz and Maruti Suzuki Baleno.
In a bid to make the car more attractive to prospective buyers and set it apart from the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota is expected to offer the Glanza with a standard 3-year/1,00,000km warranty, as against Maruti’s 2-year/40,000km warranty. Toyota is also likely to offer its extended warranty plans, including the five-year True Warranty package that can be opted within the period of standard manufacturing warranty, and the seven-year Toyota Timeless Warranty package that can be purchased after the standard warranty is over.
Glanza first in a family of badge re-engineered models
The Glanza is the first of a family of badge re-engineered models to come from Toyota, with the company confirming that it will also be sharing Maruti Suzuki's popular Vitara Brezza compact SUV, the Ciaz sedan and the Ertiga MPV in the future to be supplied to Toyota for sale in India and in Africa.
Additionally, the two carmakers will join hands to develop a new Toyota C-segment MPV that will be supplied to Suzuki. Also, the companies have announced it plans to make a big push towards hybrid electric vehicles with the local procurement of hybrid systems, engines and batteries. Toyota will also supply its hybrid system to Suzuki. Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso have already invested in a battery plant in Gujarat.
The two brands have also announced their partnership for Europe where Toyota will use Suzuki's small petrol engines for its compact models, and the Toyota Rav4 EV and the Corolla estate will be sold by Suzuki in the European market.
Interestingly, the Glanza name harks back to December 1995 when Toyota launched the Starlet series – Reflet and Glanza. It was the first car in the small-sized vehicle class produced in Japan, equipped with ABS as standard on all variants.
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