SUVs are currently the most popular vehicles in India. Be it entry level or full-blown SUVs with 4×4 features, most car buyers today aspire to buy an SUV. Now, it has been revealed that the upcoming Y17 is nothing other than the 7-seat version of the Grand Vitara.
The 7-seat Grand Vitara will likely take on the likes of the Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700. The 3-row SUV will expand the SUV range of the Indian carmaker. While all details are not yet known, one thing that is certain is the fact that the Y17 will also spawn an export version. It is unclear if Toyota will also get a derivative of this car.
Currently, both the Grand Vitara and the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder are being built at Toyota’s plant in Bidadi. But, this new 3-row SUV will be manufactured at Maruti’s new plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana. The plant is expected to go live by 2025 and the first model to be manufactured here is the 7-seater Grand Vitara.
Maruti Suzuki has planned to spend INR 7,000 crore in FY2023 towards the construction and commissioning of this new plant. The initial capacity of the plant would be around 2,50,000 units per annum. The Kharkhoda plant will augment the existing Manesar and Gurugram plants to manufacture a total of 2 million units per annum by 2028. According to media reports, Maruti is estimating an annual volume of 1.2 lakh units for the Y17 SUV.
Based on the global C platform, the Maruti Y17 SUV will share its underpinning with the standard Grand Vitara. It will get an extended wheelbase to accommodate the extra row of seats. Maruti could also differentiate the 2 and 3-row cars by giving it a revised styling along with few cosmetic changes. Both the cars are expected to share the powertrain options which means that this too will come with the strong hybrid option.
The car will come by 2025 but before that Maruti is preparing to launch its version of the Innova Hycross in the near future.
Also Read – Maruti Suzuki launches Grand Vitara S-CNG at INR 12.85 lakh.