Maruti Vitara Brezza Petrol to get CVT

Maruti Suzuki is likely to give the Vitara Brezza a petrol powered engine with a CVT gearbox or the existing diesel engine, an AMT gearbox. This comes as a strategy from Maruti to get a firm clutch on its presence in the utility vehicle segment.

The country’s largest carmaker is expected to price the Brezza petrol or the Brezza diesel AMT in the range of Rs 8-11 lakh. Is this the Tata Nexon effect?

The Tata Nexon will be launched tomorrow and comes with both petrol and diesel engines. In comparison, the Brezza is powered by a 1.3-litre diesel engine only. The oil burner unit in the Brezza puts out 89 HP of power and 200 Nm of torque. This engine comes paired to a five-speed manual gearbox only.

When launched initially, the Vitara Brezza had a waiting period of four to five months, but, off-late the waiting period has come down to just 15 days. Selling over 1.5 lakh units (until July end) since its launch last year, the Brezza has made the country’s largest carmaker as the largest utility vehicle maker in the first quarter of FY 2017-18.

With every competitor of the Vitara Brezza offering both petrol and diesel engines, the Brezza is clearly at a disadvantage. This is probably the right time for Maruti to introduce a petrol engine in the Brezza or give an AMT gearbox to the diesel engine.

The petrol and automatic options in the Brezza can be game-changers for Maruti Suzuki as many consumers would shift to the Nexon as buyers in this segment prefer comfort along with features and looks. Tata Motors will introduce AMT gearbox options in its compact SUV next year, the automatic gearbox equipped Nexon was spied recently in the XZA trim.

Source: BW Businessworld