Toyota Innova Hycross to also spawn a Maruti derivative

The upcoming Toyota Innova Hycross, which is slated to go on sale early next year, will also have a dedicated Maruti Suzuki sibling. In a regulatory filing, Toyota has said it is preparing for the launch of a C-MPV in the financial year 2022-2023, which will also be shared with its alliance partner Maruti Suzuki. This MPV is likely to be the Innova Hycross.    

• Maruti C-MPV will come with two powertrain options
• Expected to go on sale in the second half of 2023

New Maruti C-MPV: first rebadged Toyota for Maruti

Since the inception of the Toyota-Suzuki alliance in 2017, Suzuki-built vehicles like the Vitara Brezza and the Baleno were cross-badged and sold as the Toyota Urban Cruiser and the Glanza in India (or the Starlet in South Africa).

While the latest Toyota-Maruti SUV duo – the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and the Grand Vitara – are built at Toyota's Bidadi plant, they are Suzuki products. On the other hand, the upcoming Maruti C-MPV will be the first Toyota product that will be rebadged for Maruti Suzuki in India and sold through the Nexa dealership chain.

In Europe, two Toyota models, the RAV-4 and the Corolla Wagon, are sold as Suzuki offerings – the A-Cross and the Swace, respectively.

New Maruti C-MPV: differences and similarities

Just like the other cross-badged products from the alliance, we expect Maruti's version of the Innova Hycross to have some distinct styling elements, mainly on the front with a unique grille and different bumper and headlamp design, and some more styling tweaks at the back.

Expect changes on the inside too in terms of interior shades, along with trim differences between both models, similar to the ones seen on the recently launched midsize SUV siblings, the Hyryder and Grand Vitara.

The new Maruti MPV will sit on the Toyota TNGA-C architecture; the naturally aspirated petrol and strong hybrid petrol engines that will be seen on the Innova Hycross will also power the Maruti MPV.

New Maruti C-MPV: India launch timeline

As we've reported before, the new Innova Hycross will see a global debut sometime next month and sales will begin by January 2023. Meanwhile, Maruti's C-MPV will come six months after the Toyota.

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Also see: 

Maruti Grand Vitara vs Toyota Hyryder: how different are they?

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