Maruti Baleno to be Discontinued in December 2020? - Rumour Debunked

Maruti Baleno is the best-selling premium hatchback in the country. It tops the sales charts with the kind of sales numbers hardly achieved by any other premium hatchback till date. However, a rumour is floating around the internet that Maruti will discontinue the Baleno by the end of this year. The primary reason with which most woke souls are backing up this statement is that Toyota will not let Maruti sell the Baleno as a part of their MOU. They further claim that Maruti Baleno’s existence will impact the sales of Toyota Glanza, which is the repurposed version of the Maruti Baleno. However, Maruti has absolutely no plans to pull the Baleno off the shelves. 

Maruti Baleno sells in higher numbers in comparison to the Toyota Glanza. For August 2020, the ratio for the sales figure of Toyota Glanza to Maruti Baleno was 1:7. It also implies that Maruti Baleno is already a well-accepted product in the Indian market. Therefore, the carmaker will not think of striking it off from its line-up. In August this year, Maruti sold a total of 10,742 units of the Baleno. Toyota, on the other hand, could manage to sell only 1,418 copies of the Glanza.

With these figures, Maruti Baleno was the most sold premium hatchback in the country for August 2020. Moreover, it is well-understood that Maruti does not have another B2-segment hatchback in Suzuki's global line-up that can replace the Baleno. Therefore, we do not think that Maruti is planning to pull the plug on the Baleno. Talking of the MOU that Maruti and Toyota have signed; it focuses more on saving up the development cost and utilizing each other’s positive attribute for the betterment of products.

With badge-engineered cars like Glanza and Urban Cruiser, Toyota is managing to clock higher sales number now. However, Maruti is known for producing some of the best small cars, while it lacks the potential of developing bigger ones or those with the series-hybrid powertrain. Well, it plans to source such products and technologies from Toyota. It should be noted; the trim levels that Toyota offers with the Glanza and Urban Cruiser are different than those offered with Baleno and Vitara Brezza. Thus, inducing some distinction from the cars they are based on. So, it can be concluded that Maruti Baleno will not be axed by the end of this year. However, the Japanese-carmaker might start working on its next-gen iteration since it is in the market for around five years now.