Maruti Suzuki has officially confirmed its plans to increase the production of their premium hatchback Baleno to meet the increasing demand and shrink the waiting period, which is currently 6-8 months depending on the variant.
According to reports, its parent holding Suzuki Motor Corp is also planning to begin the manufacturing of Baleno at its plant in Gujarat, by the January-March quarter of 2017.
As of now, the company has over 45,000 outstanding bookings for Baleno and Brezza. The manufacturer is aiming at reducing the waiting period and increase production by 12,000 units a month to meet the increased domestic and export demands.
Besides, Maruti Suzuki is planning to ramp up the number of Nexa outlets in the country from 127 outlets to 250 by the end of the financial year. While Suzuki Motor is also planning to initiate a pilot project at its plant in Gujarat, which will exclusively supply vehicles and components to Maruti Suzuki.
Baleno was launched in India in October end last year and has become a popular choice in the hatchback segment. Since its launch, the hatchback has witnessed several price hikes, owing to its popularity. The base variant now costs around Rs. 5.15 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), which is a price hike of Rs. 16,999 compared to its introductory price of Rs. 4.99 lakh.
It comes in two variants – the 1.2-litre petrol engine churns out 83bhp of power while its 1.3-litre diesel engine generates around 75bhp of power and 190Nm of torque. The diesel variant of the hatchback is only available in manual transmission, while the petrol variant is available in the optional CVT transmission besides the regular 5-speed manual transmission.
