Maruti Suzuki to export India-made Baleno hatch to European Union

Maruti Suzuki is all set to export its new Baleno hatchback to the European Union markets in a bid to revive its export market share in the region. This will be the company's second effort to make its presence felt in the European region. 

According to a report from The Hindu, the carmaker is expected to start exporting the hatch in January 2016, with shipments going to Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, France and Spain, among others.

Going ahead, the company might consider sending the India-made Baleno to Japan too. Over and above the Baleno, the carmaker also exports the Ertiga, Celerio, Ciaz and the Swift Dzire to various markets. 

The European Union is a part of Suzuki's global export plan, the report said. 

In India, the Baleno hatch is available at a starting price of Rs 4.99 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.16 lakh for the diesel (both prices, ex-showroom, New Delhi). 

Prices for the petrol variant go up to Rs 7.01 lakh and Rs 8.11 lakh for the top diesel variant.

Under the hood, the Baleno draws power from Suzuki's 1.2-litre K12 engine, capable of producing 83.1bhp and 11.7kgm of torque. The diesel line-up gets the 1.3-litre DdiS diesel engine from Fiat which can make 73.9bhp and 19.3kgm of torque. Both engines are mated to a five-speed gearbox. The petrol line-up, however, also gets a CVT automatic variant, priced at Rs 6.76 lakh.

Both the petrol and diesel line up gets four variants each – Sigma, Delta, Zeta and Alpha.

For safety, Maruti has kept the features standard across all the variants. All variants, petrol and diesel, of the Baleno hatchback gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD, seat belt pre-tensioners, and Total Effective Control Technology (TECT).

On the inside, the Baleno gets Apple CarPlay, which is a first in the segment. MSI will be the first OEM in India to offer Apple CarPlay. The instrument panel is blue-lit, and gets Bluetooth, aux and USB. 

India was the first market to get the Baleno hatch.