Toyota has no plan to ‘badge engineer’ Maruti Swift, but a video visualises what it could be like. The artist has christened it Toyota Swirl
In recent years, the Indian automotive market has witnessed an interesting trend—Toyota rebadging Maruti cars and selling it under its own brand umbrella. Basically, Toyota, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, has entered into a strategic partnership with Suzuki, a leading small car specialist. This collaboration has given results into Toyota selling rebadged Maruti cars in India. So far, we’ve seen Toyota sell Baleno and Brezza as Glanza and Urban Cruiser, respectively. Soon, it will even launch its own version of the Maruti Ertiga in the form of the Toyota Rumen. However, it doesn’t plan to roll out a rebadged Maruti Swift. A video, though, visualises what a repurposed Swift would look like. The artist has called his creation ‘Toyota Swirl.’
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Toyota Swirl – Maruti Swift with a New Face
As has been the case with the likes of Glanza, the Swirl gets minimal visual differences. It looks almost completely like the swift, save for the revised front-end. Up front, it has a new grille that is slightly reminiscent of the one on the Innova Hycross. In fact, it even reminds you of the Suzuki Swift Sport. Even the bumper seems to come from the performance-tuned version. Of course, the highlight here has to be the prominent Toyota badge. Rest of the stuff, including the sheetmetal and soft parts like the headlamps stay untouched. Even the side profile has nothing new to offer. The only little variation here is courtesy of the matte grey finish on the rims. The rear-end, too, carries without a major difference. But the digital model carries Toyota and Swirl badges to distinguish itself from the Swift.
Overall, we feel the artist has done a pretty neat job with this concept. The Toyota Swirl looks enough like the Swift while managing to have its unique identity through the new nose – Something that can be seen in the Baleno-to-Glanza conversion. However, it’s important to note here that Toyota has no plans to repurpose the current-get Swift and sell it under its umbrella. In fact, the third-gen Swift will soon receive a complete model overhaul. Currently, it’s not known if the next-gen model will be shared between Suzuki and Toyota.
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Toyota-Suzuki Alliance
The partnership between Toyota and Suzuki was established in 2017, aiming to leverage each other’s strengths and enhance their competitiveness in the fast-growing markets such as that of India. Under this agreement, Maruti Suzuki agreed to provide Toyota with its popular models to be sold under the Toyota brand.
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Benefits for Toyota
- Market Expansion: By rebadging Maruti cars, Toyota gains access to a wider range of vehicle segments in India. Maruti Suzuki has a strong foothold in the compact car segment, which is highly popular among Indian consumers. Toyota, on the other hand, has a reputation for reliability and quality. This collaboration allows Toyota to tap into the mass market segment and appeal to a broader customer base.
- Cost Efficiency: Developing new models from scratch involves significant investment in research, development, and manufacturing. By rebadging Maruti cars, Toyota can save costs associated with designing and engineering new vehicles specifically for the Indian market. This allows Toyota to offer competitive prices and maximize profitability.
- Manufacturing Capacity Optimization: Toyota can utilize Maruti Suzuki’s existing manufacturing facilities and distribution network in India. By leveraging Maruti’s production capabilities, Toyota can increase its production capacity and meet the growing demand for its vehicles in India without making substantial investments in new manufacturing plants.
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In return, Maruti Suzuki gains access to Toyota’s advanced technology. For the uninitiated, Maruti Suzuki uses Toyota’s hybrid technology in its Grand Vitara and recently launched Invicto. Also, the brand’s association with a renowned global player improves its perception and credibility. Finally, it even helps Maruti tap into Toyota’s global distribution network and explore international markets.
