It's for the first time in the Indian automobile industry that one car will have three different names in the global market. Maruti Suzuki — manufacturer of the car — will don it A-Star in India. The same car will be contract-manufactured by Maruti for Nissan Motors and will be called Pixo. And in Europe, it will be the new Alto for Suzuki Motor Corporation. The car will be manufactured by Maruti Suzuki’s plant at Manesar in Haryana. It will be revealed by both the companies at the Paris Motor Show Oct' 2008.

 

Maruti A-Star will definitely be a strong competitor for other cars in the small car segment. The car under three different badges will be powered by Suzuki’s 1.0 litre K-series engine, however, the Pixo and Alto will possibly have an additional four speed automatic transmission for easy city handling. Though all the cars will have a common architecture, Pixo’s front as well as badge will be different. As stated by the sources in the automobile industry, the car will be the smallest premium hatchback in India with its 3,565-mm length, 1,470-mm height and 1,600-mm width, with a 2,360-mm wheelbase.

 

Like the current Alto, it will typically be a four-seater, but with better design and spacious interiors. The car will have better head and legroom, along with features like airbags, anti-lock braking system, electronic power steering and steering-mounted audio controls will be standard. Maruti A-Star will appear in the domestic market somewhere in November and hit the international market early in 2009. Maruti Suzuki will produce 50,000 units of the car for the domestic market and will export 1, 00,000 to Europe and other parts of the world.