Baleno to be Toyota's first re-badged product

> Maruti Baleno is currently made at their Gujarat factory, and some of that will shift to Toyota’s Karnataka facility

> Toyota Baleno will have tweaked exteriors such as restyled head lights, tail lamps and grille

Sources have revealed that the first product to roll out from Toyota’s facility under the cross-badging agreement will be Maruti’s own Baleno.

This is a result of the pact made between Maruti and Toyota earlier this year to sell each other’s car models in India. A report states that officials (who didn’t want to be named) disclosed that close to 25,000 Maruti Suzuki Balenos will make their way to Toyota’s facility. The rebadged ‘Toyota Baleno’ is expected to roll out from Toyota showrooms by mid-2019.

It doesn’t end here though. Suzuki is also likely to supply its utility vehicle, the Brezza to Toyota. And, as a part of this deal, Suzuki will also get its hands on the Toyota Corolla which it will probably sell through its Nexa dealerships. This isn’t the first time cross-badging has been tried in India. Renault and Nissan have tried the same strategy with the Duster/Terrano, and Scala/Sunny.