Suzuki to sell made-in-India Baleno in Europe from April 2016

Suzuki Motor Corporation is all set to begin sales of the Baleno hatchback in Europe from next month.

The Japanese carmaker is currently showcasing the made-in-India Baleno at the Geneva Motor Show. This is in line with its marketing plan to sell the Baleno in over 100 countries and regions including Japan and Europe.

As per its mid-term management plan – known as ‘Suzuki Next 100’ – Suzuki aims to strengthen manufacturing by according top priority to quality, creating original products, and fortifying technology development capabilities and productivity.

According to the company, the fastest growing categories in the next few years will be compact SUVs, followed by midsized SUVs, B-segment and also A-segment cars. The Baleno is one of the new 20 models to be introduced worldwide until 2020 and will be available in European dealerships from April 2016.

This means Maruti Suzuki India, which is the sole manufacturer and supplier of the Baleno global hatchback, should see a sharp surge in its overall exports in FY201-17.

Autocar Professional had revealed that Maruti Suzuki India had on January 29 shipped 1,760 right-hand-drive, automatic (CVT-equipped) Balenos to Japan. Subsequently, on February 9-10, a total of 854 Balenos, most of them left-hand-drive cars, were shipped to six European countries from Mundra Port. Germany tops the list with a total of 436 units, followed by Italy (167), Belgium (113), Poland (93), Slovenia (38) and Spain (7).

The Baleno was first launched in October 2015 in India, where Maruti Suzuki has a commanding 52.70% share of the passenger car market. The new hatchback, which is retailed from the premium Nexa showrooms in India, has turned out to be very successful – from October 2015-January 2016, the car has sold 31,573 units, with nearly 18,000 of them being petrol-engined models.

Engines for Europe
For Europe, the Baleno gets a 110bhp, 1.0-litre Boosterjet direct-injection turbo engine with a high torque output of 17.33kgm paired with either a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic transmission. The car is also available with a new 1.2 Dualjet, a dual-injection petrol engine with improved thermal efficiency that strikes an excellent balance between offering strong performance and good fuel efficiency. The 1.2 Dualjet can be paired with either the same five-speed manual transmission as the 1.0 Boosterjet or with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

The Baleno for Europe also gets Suzuki’s SHVS mild hybrid system which uses an Integrated Starter Generator (known as ISG) to assist the engine during vehicle launching and accelerating and to generate electricity through regenerative braking. In the Baleno, the SHVS system helps deliver a CO₂ level of 94g/km with combined fuel consumption of 4 litres per 100km. SHVS adds 6.2kg to the car’s overall weight.

Under the Suzuki Next 100 plan, the carmaker has developed a new platform strategy and the Baleno is the first Suzuki model with the new-generation platform to be introduced to Europe. This new platform strategy targets reduction of weight and increased rigidity. For the Baleno, body rigidity has been enhanced by approximately 10 percent and due to the use of a new smoother-shaped structure, total vehicle weight has been reduced by around 15 percent. Suzuki says this weight reduction was achieved by treating the car as a whole and not by looking at only the individual parts. It is also thanks to the use of high tensile steels and technologies to reduce weight applied to the vehicle body as well as mechanical parts including doors, seats and interior parts, suspension, engine and brakes.

ESP, 6 SRS airbags, Radar Brake Support & Adaptive Cruise Control in export Baleno
The export model Baleno for Europe incorporates new safety systems including Radar Brake Support (RBS). The RBS system detects a vehicle directly in front and, depending on the situation, it automatically and lightly applies the brakes to warn the driver, activates the brake assist function and automatically brakes.

The European Baleno also gets adaptive cruise control (ACC), which calculates using a millimetre wave radar, the distance to the vehicle ahead and adjusts driving speed. 

Other safety features include ESP, six SRS airbags and an impact-absorbent body. Suzuki says various components have also been designed to lessen injuries sustained by pedestrians in vehicle-to-person collisions.

Suzuki says, “Fundamental design and development work for the Baleno were undertaken in Japan. This was supported by a full program of evaluation tuning and calibration in Europe. A range of tests were carried out in many countries by Suzuki’s technical teams.”