BreakingMaruti to launch Toyota Innova Hycross under its umbrella in next 2 months

By Varun SinghMaruti Suzuki India will launch the Toyota Innova Hycross under its brand name in the next two months, according to a senior company official. This model will be the country’s largest carmaker’s flagship offering and will sit above the Grand Vitara.

At the company’s annual financial results press conference, Maruti Chairman R C Bhargava said that one new product that we will introduce will be a vehicle sourced from Toyota and that will be a three-row strong-hybrid model.

“This will be a top-of-the-line kind of a vehicle in terms of price,” he said, adding that it will come in roughly two months or so.

The Innova Hycross was launched in India by Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) in December 2022 and is currently priced between Rs 18.55 lakh and Rs 29.72 lakh (ex-showroom). It has two engine options — 2.0-litre VVTi petrol and 2.0-litre VVTi petrol with the fifth-generation SHEV system.

Replying to a question from India Today regarding the volumes being targeted by Maruti for the cross-badged Innova Hycross, Bhargava said”The numbers will ultimately be determined when we start selling the vehicle.”

“The same vehicle owned by Toyota has bookings of 12 months. How many vehicles we will get from them is dependent on their capacity and their own needs,” he added.

The Toyota Innova Hycross is available in six variants — G, GX, VX, VX(O), ZX and ZX(O). TKM recently halted bookings for the top variants, ZX and ZX(O), of the premium multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) owing to supply challenges.

When asked whether TKM will be able to supply the cross-badged Innova Hycross to Maruti when it is itself struggling with supply issues, Bhargava said”We have an agreement with Toyota that some amount of vehicles they have to supply to us even if they are short. We are also doing this with our vehicles. It is a mutual agreement and both sides make adjustments to their requirements.”

“If we want, say 7,000 or 8,000 or 9,000 units a year, they will give that to us irrespective of their own demand situation.” he added.

He observed that annual volumes of up to 10,000 units would not be less for a top-of-the-line premium vehicle even if it is being sold by Maruti. That is a very different vehicle from say a WagonR, he pointed.