Maruti Suzuki India Limited (Maruti Suzuki) on Saturday unveiled the New Baleno, targeting young and ambitious urban customers with a refreshed design, enhanced technology and improved fuel efficiency. The new premium hatchback is priced at ₹6,09,900 ex-showroom in Bengaluru.

The New Baleno makes its debut with segment-first Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), offering eight advanced safety and driver-assistance functions. The vehicle is also powered by the new Advanced Z12E powertrain, available with a five-speed manual transmission and Auto Gear Shift (AGS) automatic transmission.

Speaking at the launch, Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said the Baleno has been a key pillar of NEXA and the premium hatchback segment for nearly a decade.

“The New Baleno is now here to redefine customer expectations with the introduction of segment-first features including Level 2 ADAS, and an unmistakable new identity established with a modern rendition of the signature NEXWave grille,” he said.

The car features a new design language, including a modern interpretation of the NEXWave grille, along with a shark-fin antenna that adds to its premium appearance.

According to Banerjee, every third premium hatchback sold in India is a Baleno. Since its launch, Maruti Suzuki has sold around 1.9 million Baleno units in the Indian market. The Baleno nameplate was first introduced in India by Maruti Suzuki in 1999 as a midsize sedan. The model was subsequently discontinued, before the company revived the nameplate in 2015 with a more stylish and sophisticated premium hatchback.

The New Baleno is offered in seven colour options, including a new Enigmatic Teal shade. Inspired by the depths of the sea and digital fusion, the new colour is designed to create a sense of depth in shadows and brilliance under light.

The vehicle also comes equipped with the Suzuki Connect telematics system, offering more than 40 connected features covering vehicle safety and security, trips and driving behaviour, vehicle status alerts and remote operations through the Suzuki Connect app.

Power and Fuel Efficiency

The New Baleno is powered by the Advanced Z12E petrol engine, which produces 61 kW of power at 5,700 rpm and 112.4 Nm of peak torque at 4,500 rpm. The engine is equipped with Idle Start-Stop technology and Dual VVT, with Maruti Suzuki claiming that the powertrain has been engineered to balance driving comfort with lower CO₂ emissions.

The engine is offered with a five-speed manual transmission and an Auto Gear Shift (AGS) automatic transmission. The manual version delivers a claimed fuel efficiency of 23.80 km/l, while the AGS variant returns 24.77 km/l.

According to the company, this represents an improvement of 6.4% and 7.9%, respectively, over the previous-generation model.

The Baleno S-CNG is also powered by the Z12E engine and is paired with a five-speed manual transmission. It delivers a claimed fuel efficiency of 33.61 km/kg in S-CNG mode, representing a 9.8% improvement over its predecessor, it said.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest passenger carmaker, expects significant growth potential in the small-car segment and will continue to focus on the category through new and appropriate product interventions, MD & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said.

Addressing shareholders at the company’s 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Takeuchi said Maruti Suzuki remains the dominant player in the small-car market, with its Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio and Wagon R models commanding an 83% market share during April-July.

The company has also witnessed strong momentum in the segment following the implementation of GST 2.0. “Post GST 2.0, the company has witnessed significant growth of 63% in small-car volumes in the April-July period,” Takeuchi said.

Maruti Suzuki’s continued focus on small cars comes as the company seeks to strengthen its product portfolio and cater to evolving consumer demand across price segments.

On investments, Takeuchi said the company has outlined a capital expenditure plan of ₹77,500 crore between FY27 and FY31. The planned investments will be directed towards capacity expansion, development of new models, research and development, plant maintenance, marketing and sales infrastructure, carbon-reduction initiatives and logistics.

For FY27, Maruti Suzuki plans to increase its capital expenditure by 40% to ₹14,000 crore, compared with ₹10,000 crore in FY26.