New Maruti Ciaz, Ignis and Baleno RS to be sold through Nexa

Maruti Suzuki has built the Nexa brand to be the home of the Indian giant’s premium offerings. With more than 100 Nexa dealerships across the country, the spread and awareness of the Nexa brand is picking up. Maruti has decided to expand the Nexa portfolio next year with the Maruti Suzuki Ignis, the Baleno RS and the Ciaz facelift.

As of now, the Ciaz is being sold through the traditional dealerships. Maruti would want to move it to Nexa to add a touch of premium-ness to the sedan as it is pitted against the Honda City and the upcoming Hyundai Verna. The mid-life facelift upgrade for the Ciaz is expected to arrive in 2017. While the move might attract opposition from the dealer network, moving the Ciaz to Nexa might help the brand in the long term.

In case of the Baleno RS, it will be an extension of the existing Baleno range. The Baleno RS will mark the debut of the new Suzuki-built three-cylinder turbocharged BoosterJet engine in India. With the power figures expected to be beyond 100bhp, the Baleno RS will compete with the Volkswagen Polo GT TSI, the Abarth Punto and the Ford Figo 1.5 DCT.

The Ignis is a brand new product. It is a compact sub-four metre SUV which is slated to be positioned below the Vitara Brezza amongst Maruti SUVs. It will be a crossover option for the Swift hatchbacks and should be priced similarly. We also expect Maruti to bring a Hyundai Creta rivalling SUV, but, with no news or test mules seen as yet, we think it may debut at the Auto Expo 2018.