Maruti Suzuki India Launches Mild Hybrid Variant of Baleno Premium Hatchback

• Published On: 28 June 2019
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Maruti Suzuki Baleno’s mild hybrid variant launched in India.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has introduced the mild hybrid model of the Baleno. The Baleno is the leading seller in the premium hatchback segment in India. The new hybrid variant of the Baleno also follows the upcoming BS-VI emission norms of India. The mild hybrid versions of the Baleno have been introduced on the 1.2 liter petrol model only. The company has introduced the mild hybrid version of Baleno with two variants -- Delta and Zeta.

The introduction of mild hybrid variant also brings price hike for the new variants of Baleno as the new models are Rs. 90,000 costlier than the normal fossil fuel versions of the premium hatchback. The prices for the mild hybrid version of Baleno are -- Rs. 7.25 lakhs (Delta) Rs. 7.86 lakhs (Zeta) ex-showroom Delhi. The mild hybrid versions of the Baleno premium hatchback are only offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox and CVT automatic gearbox is not available with either trims of the premium hatchback.

Not only is the mild hybrid version of the Baleno complaint with the upcoming BS-Vi norms, the regular version of the 1.2 liter-4 cylinder engine found on the Baleno will also be updated to meet the upcoming emission norms of the country. The new norms are set to kick in from April next year and before that the company will make the appropriate changes in the engine that will make the engine BS-VI compliant.

Maruti Suzuki India’s senior executive director of the sales and marketing division RS Kalsi spoke on the occasion of the launch of the new mild-hybrid version of Baleno and said,

Baleno has been a blockbuster car from day one. We have over 5.5 lakh happy Baleno customers since its launch in  2015 and sold more than 2 lakh units in the last fiscal year. We recently upgraded Baleno with latest design and  technology. At Maruti Suzuki, we strive to bring newer, better and environment friendly technologies to our products. Baleno Smart Hybrid with BS VI stands testament to the same. We are confident that the premium hatchback Baleno will present a complete package in line with aspirations of evolving customers.

As already stated the only the petrol engine of the Baleno has been updated with the mild-hybrid unit and this is the same Suzuki Hybrid Vehicle System (SHVS) mild hybrid unit that is seen on Ciaz and Ertiga. The only difference is that Ciaz and Ertiga come with the more powerful and larger 1.5 liter petrol engines. The new mild-hybrid update to the Baleno makes it the first mild hybrid car of the segment, with the mileage of the car shooting up from 21.4 Km/l 23.87 Km/l. However, the company has not yet revealed the outputs of the new mild-hybrid setup. The new mild hybrid variant of the Baleno comes with a DualJet engine which as 2 fuel injectors for each of the 4 cylinders rather than the regular one injector that is seen on the normal petrol engine of Baleno.

The increased mileage of the Baleno is thanks to the tighter emission norms compliance and the presence of the mild hybrid technology. The mild hybrid setup assists the car in generating more torque with lesser fossil fuel consumption. Not to mention that the idle start stop function of the mild hybrid also adds to the mileage of the premium hatchback. As far as the regeneration of the energy for the mild hybrid setup is concerned, the brake energy regeneration makes sure that the mild hybrid setup gets its energy back whenever the brakes are used.