- Toyota has revealed the Vitz hatchback in South Africa.
- The hatch is nothing but a rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio, sold in the South African market.
- The African-spec Celerio is majorly the same unit as sold in India, and Toyota could introduce the Vitz in India.
The collaboration between Maruti Suzuki and Toyota is touching new heights and it is quite evident by the most recent showcase of the Toyota Vitz (Rebadged Maruti Celerio) in South Africa. The hatchback is the badge-engineered version of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio sold in the South African markets. The South African Celerio is the same as the India-spec model and there is a high chance that the Indo-Japanese carmaker may be exporting the India-made model to South Africa. Here is everything you need to know about the Toyota Vitz and its connection with the Maruti Suzuki Celerio hatchback.
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All-New Toyota Vitz, Rebadged Maruti Celerio: What We Know?
The Vitz hatchback was revealed in full flesh at the Toyota State of the Motor Industry Event (SOMI) held in Johannesburg, South Africa and it is slated for a launch in the African market by mid-2023. Being a rebadged vehicle, the four-wheeler looks exactly the same as the Celerio, albeit with the changed logo. It is interesting to note that South Africa is the first country where Toyota used the Vitz nameplate for rebadged Celerio. For reference, the Toyota Yaris hatch goes by the name Vitz in many overseas markets.
All-New Toyota Vitz, Rebadged Maruti Celerio: Powertrain, Pricing and More
Under the hood, the Vitz will carry the same powertrain specification as the Celerio. So it will be powered by the 1.0 litre K10C petrol engine, putting out 65.71 bhp and 89 Nm of peak torque, the exact same specs we have in the India-origin model. The engine is mated to the option of a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT transmission. In terms of features, the South African spec Celerio comes kitted with equipment such as 15-inch alloy wheels, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Andriod Auto and Apple CarPlay, remote central locking, front and rear electric windows and more. We expect the same set of features to be carried forward to Vitz as well.
In terms of pricing, the Vitz will command a slight premium over the Celerio hatchback. In South Africa, the Celerio is available in 3 variants, priced in the range of Rand 178,900 to Rand 213,900, translating into an approximate Indian currency value of Rs. 8.46 lakh to Rs 10.11 lakh. In South Africa, Maruti Suzuki offers a warranty of 5 years/2,00,000, whichever is earlier.
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Verdict: The Maruti Suzuki-Toyota joint venture has a lot of products lined up for launch in India in the year 2023. These include the Toyota Fronx-based crossover A15, Toyota Ertiga-based MPV D23, Maruti Suzuki Innova Hycross-based premium MPV and more. With the unveiling of the Toyota Vitz rebadged Maruti Celerio in South Africa, another vehicle has been added to the list. However, there are very slim chances that a badged engineered version of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio will launch in India, given the premium market positioning of current Toyota products.
