Maruti Suzuki Wagon R as a seven-seater might arrive in 2017

Maruti Suzuki is moving aggressively with its plans of launching new cars in every segment. According to reports, the manufacturer is developing a seven-seater WagonR that is expected to be launched as the third generation of the car in 2017.

The carmaker is making changes to the design of the WagonR hatchback to incorporate the third row of seats while still keeping the length of the car under four metres. The restriction of four metres is obviously to avail the excise duty benefits which will help them price the car aggressively. This new vehicle will join the Ertiga in Maruti Suzuki's line-up of the MPV segment of cars.

The company has already started working on the WagonR MPV and is expected to borrow design cues from the Wagon R seven-seater concept that was displayed at the Indonesia International Motor Show in 2013. Currently, the WagonR is powered only by the petrol engine, while the latest iteration is expected to be available in both petrol and diesel engine options. 

A source close to the development said, "Most of the work on the new WagonR is going on in the India R&D. The company sees major potential for a low-priced seven-seater vehicle coming with Suzuki’s reliability, especially in the rural market which is today almost a third of total sales. Maruti Suzuki, along with our principals SMC, Japan has ambitious plans for the Indian market. These include increasing the volume levels to over two million units annually. Such a plan has to be supported with new models as well as product refreshments for existing models."

Maruti Suzuki aims to sell two lakh units of the new model annually and also plans to export the new WagonR to Indonesia. At present, the company exports the Ertiga to that country through the CKD route and might follow the same procedure for the new WagonR. The car will go up against the Mahindra Quanto and the upcoming Datsun Go+ when launched in India.

Source: Financial Express