The Maruti YJC compact MPV will be positioned below the Ertiga and will be sold across India and South East Asian markets.
Recent reports suggest that Maruti Suzuki has commenced work on an all-new compact MPV for the Indian market that will be competing against the Datsun GO+ MPV and will help the automaker expand its volume base further in the compact vehicle space. Codenamed YJC, the all-new MPV will most likely be tucked under the 4-metre mark and will be competing against the Datsun GO+ in the same space. What makes the YJC even more important is that the model will be sold across India and South East Asian countries, prompting us to think that the compact MPV will be a 7-seater Wagon R that has been confirmed for production in Indonesia.
First showcased last year at the Indonesia International Motor Show, the Wagon R 7-seater concept was given a green signal from Suzuki’s head honchos and will make it to production by 2016. Given the similarities between the Indian and Indonesian markets, the model makes sense for India as well and will be based on the existing Wagon R platform. Speaking on the product, the company stated earlier that the model will be offered with a completely new styling much better than the exisitng model with no changes made to the wheelbase.
Maruti has already sent proposals to vendors and suppliers for designing and sourcing components of the YJC MPV. The automaker plans to launch the model during the festive season of 2016 and is expecting to clock over 80,000 units in the first year of sales. The compact 7-seater will be positioned above the Wagon R in Maruti’s lineup and is most likely to get the bigger 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine. A diesel motor cannot be confirmed as of now. With the Datsun GO+ in-line for an early 2015 launch and now the Maruti YJC coming up in 2016, the compact MPV space might just be the next big segment in the Indian auto market.
Source – Economic Times