India made Maruti Suzuki Ertiga sold in Indonesia as the Mazda VX1

The Indian made Maruti Suzuki Ertiga MPV is now being sold in the Indonesia market as a rebadged Mazda VX1 for 178, 800, 000 Indonesian Rupiah  (Rs 10.14 lakh). The Ertiga was launched for the MPV crazy Indonesia market last year and is assembled by Suzuki Indonesia from CKD kits that are manufactured and exported from India.   

The VX1 uses the same 1.4-litre K-Series petrol mill (94PS and 130Nm of torque) and power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. The MPV is sold in two variants by Mazda; V and R grade both of which seem to be the equivalent of the India spec Maruti Suzuki VXi and ZXi trim line respectively. It also features a slightly more aggressive exterior design as compared to the Ertiga. The changes are in the form of larger bumpers, rear spoiler and a larger front grille.

While rebadging is not something new to Japanese automakers, what is significant about the Mazda VX1 is that it’s a sign that Maruti Suzuki is currently making full use of its petrol production line. The Indo-Japanese automaker’s petrol car sales have dwindled to a significantly small number over the last two years due to rapid dieselisation of the Indian car market.         

Images: Mazda Indonesia