Maruti Suzuki XL6 launched in India; priced at Rs 9.7-10.8 lakh; check out features, specifications

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Wednesday launched a six seater version of its bestselling multi-utility vehicle Ertiga, XL6 at Rs 9.79-10.89 lakh for the manual transmission version and Rs 10.36-11.46 lakh for the two automatic variants. To be sold at the company's premium Nexa outlets, the XL6 comes only with a 1.5 litre K15B petrol engine that has a peak power output of 105 PS and torque of 138 NM. The engine is compliant with stringent BS VI emission norm that comes into effect in India from April 1, 2020. There is no diesel engine on offer in the car for now.

The car is available with a 5 speed manual and 4 speed automatic transmissions. Equipped with a pair of captain seats and individual armrests for the middle row occupants unlike the regular Ertiga, which has a bench seat, XL6 is strictly a six seater. It also gets leatherette upholstery to differentiate it from the Ertiga with has fabric upholstery.

"In a short span of four year, Nexa has more than 1 million customers with presence in over 200 cities and 300 plus outlets. We continuously engage with our customers and try to introduce products and services that they desire," said Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. "All the products that we have rolled out from Nexa have been game changers in their respective segments. We are sure XL6 will add to that lineage. Equipped with many segment first features and a stylish design we are confident that customers will appreciate it for complete package of style, comfort, safety and practicality."

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While the overall dashboard, layout of the XL6 is similar to that of the Ertiga, the black-beige colour combo has been replaced by a sportier all-black theme with stone finish garnish and silver inserts.

Other features include LED headlamps with DRLs, smartplay infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, climate control, multi-info driver's display and power windows. It also comes with convenience features like keyless entry, push button start, electrically adjustable and foldable ORVMs.

The domestic automobile industry is facing an unprecedented slowdown in the market with sales falling for nine straight months till July and in 12 of the last 13 months. Overall industry volumes declined by 21.56 percent in April-July 2019 over the same period in 2018. Maruti's own sales in the domestic market in this fiscal so far is almost 25 percent lower than last year. The outlook for the rest of the fiscal continues to be grim due to uncertainty over how customers will react in the run up to the switch from BS IV to VI emission norms in April 2020.

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"The Indian auto industry is undergoing major transformation right now. Industry is adapting to new technology, reglulations and norms and all of it is happening at the same time. We will ensure that we meet all the forthcoming regulations as well as requirements of our customers much before timeline," Ayukawa said. "Challenges in the short and long term bring pressure. We can overcome all of them with our focus. We need strong focus on quality in all business areas is key," added Ayukawa.

"We are concerned with the double digit decline in sales in the industry. So we are trying to change the sentiment by bringing in new products like the XL6," he added. "We are hopeful that the market will improve during the upcoming festive season," said Ayukawa.

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