Maruti Suzuki to manufacture Ignis at Gurgaon plant

Maruti Suzuki India's upcoming premium urban city car, the Suzuki Ignis is all set to hit the road after its launch on January 13, 2017. E-bookings start in the first week of January with about 57 percent of the bookings to be made online. 

Targeting youth in their 20s, a market estimated to be worth 450 million millennials-strong or trendsetters, the Ignis – in line with its target audience – will roll out at an EDM music concert.

The Ignis concept car was first showcased by Maruti Suzuki India at the Auto Expo 2016 along with the new turbo 1.0L Boosterjet direct injection engine that will power the Baleno RS, the sportier version of the Baleno hatchback. Similar to the premium and hot-selling Baleno hatchback, the Ignis will be the third car to be marketed through the carmaker’s premium Nexa sales channel. The first was the S-Cross hatchback.

The Ignis comes equipped with Maruti’s Auto Gear Shift (AGS) which was a runaway hit in the Celerio hatchback. The second-generation AGS will be on offer in both diesel and petrol variants of the Ignis. The capacity of the AGS has recently been ramped up and has been localised, said CV Raman, executive director engineering, Maruti Suzuki India.

The Ignis, which has 180mm ground clearance, will get projector headlamps with LED DRLs, fog lamps with chrome inserts, daylight opening and black alloy wheels. The interiors are spacious with the dashboard available in dual tone (black and ivory) and the car is equipped with both an Android and iOS- compatible smartphone linkage display audio system (SLDA), which is new to a premium compact car. The SLDA looks like a tablet plugged to the car.

Dual airbags and ABS with EBD

To meet upcoming safety regulations in 2017-18, the Ignis will come with dual airbags and ABS with EBD and also meet regulations for pedestrian safety, side and rear and offset norms. The car also gets ISOFIX anchorage, a child restraint system for the hatch user.  In addition, Maruti Suzuki will offer personalisation options in roof wraps and in the interiors like seats and trims.

The Ignis will be manufactured at the Gurgaon plant where the Vitara Brezza is currently produced.  The compact urban car is currently also made in Japan. Raman told Autocar Professional that Maruti will consider exporting the Ignis to South Asia and South East Asian countries but at present the focus is firmly on the domestic market. He also added that the company is evaluating the option of harnessing the 1.0-litre turbo Boosterjet engine in other models as well.

With the carmaker’s Gujarat facility going on stream in January, production of the much-in-demand Baleno will start there, easing the pressure on the Haryana plants at Manesar and Gurgaon. “Slowly, the entire production of the Baleno will be shifted to Gujarat to make space for the new models with rejigging of model production at both the plants. The Baleno RS will also be made at Gujarat,” said RS Kalsi, executive director (sales and marketing), Maruti Suzuki India. At present, the Baleno is hitting sales of 10,000 units a month as is the Vitara Brezza.