Maruti Suzuki Baleno petrol SHVS mild-hybrid to be launched this year: Report

The Baleno, the premium hatchback of Maruti Suzuki has been rumoured to get SHVS ( (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) mild-hybrid system in India for quite sometime now. The latest bit of information is that the SHVS technology in the Baleno could come to the market this year and is likely to be introduced in the petrol version of the hatchback.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS India launch pushed to March 2017?

Maruti's SHVS technology was debuted in the Ciaz diesel in 2015 and later introduced in the diesel version of Ertiga hybrid. Although it was said earlier that in the Baleno too, it's the diesel model of the hatchback that would get the SHVS mild-hybrid system, now a report of MotorOctane claims that it is unlikely as there is high demand for the petrol variants.

If this rings true, Baleno would be the first model from the company's stable to get SHVS in petrol variants. The Baleno is sold with a 1.2-litre K-Series petrol engine and a 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine. While the petrol engine is tuned to develop 83bhp and 115Nm of torque, the diesel mill churns out 74bhp and 190Nm of torque.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno has been a great success in the Indian market and has garnered over 1 lakh bookings. The Baleno will also get a new Boosterjet variant in the country. The Baleno RS is expected to be launched in March. The go faster version of the Baleno will be powered by a 1.0-litre BoosterJet petrol engine, which will be tuned to churn out 100bhp at 5,500rpm and 150Nm of torque between 1,700 and 4,500rpm, mated to five-speed manual transmission.