On 5 th January 2012, the curtains finally came down on the 11th edition of eagerly awaited Auto Expo and the opening day witnessed the unveiling of Maruti Suzuki's Concept Compact SUV XA Alpha. With the SUV, India's largest car maker aims to broaden its ambit and foray into untapped segments of the Indian auto industry.
“The choice of automobile will be dictated more and more by the way of life of customers. We will launch new products and create new categories to their choice,” Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shinzo Nakanishi said.
A number of visitors would be inquisitive regarding the name of the SUV, XA Alpha, which proves to be quite unique for the Indian market. The X in the name informs that the car will be placed in the cross-over category, whereas the A denotes the debut purchase for the customers who are planning to own the first-ever utility vehicle by Maruti. This also matches with the compact dimensions of the all-new SUV.
The α (Alpha) in the naming convention stands for the advancement and freshness of the model that would surely click with the younger generation. An exclusive unified engineering team comprising of five local engineers in unison with highly experienced Suzuki Japan R&D engineers have given rise to the Compact Concept SUV XA Alpha.
Technical Specifications of Compact Concept XA Alpha
DIMENSIONS
*4000mm or 4 metres in length
*Width of 1900mm
*As the SUV is a 4-Wheel drive vehicle, all wheels would receive torque simultaneously and therefore, the SUV would offer more control during bumpy road surfaces. However, other details regarding the gearbox, power and torque output as well as displacement would be shared only after the company decides to manufacture the Compact Concept. According to Maruti Suzuki, presently, XA Alpha is not more than a Show Car.
It took around 9 months for the workforce to manufacture the Concept and the operations were headed by Chief Designer, Takeuchi. It must be noted that XA Alpha has been brought out as a Concept for now and plans regarding its production at a designated plant may or may not be put into action in the future.
It has been learnt that the Concept, like many others, would share the company's strategies, vision and designs on which Maruti seems to be working at present. The SUV, not more than a design prototype, has been showcased in order to study the response of the potential Indian buyers.
The decision to build its production model depends on a number of factors including demand, purchasing cost as well as the level of possibility that goes with converting the Concept into a production version. The XA Alpha has been designed to satisfy the changing needs of buyers, along with handling off-road conditions.
The appearance of the Concept SUV seems to be quite experimental as the company has given rise to a vehicle that does not follow set design guidelines and usual contour patterns. The bold looks of the SUV seem to be inspired by the Indian version of martial arts that is wrestling.
Counting on the Concept SUV, the company appears to make serious efforts of establishing a sub-segment within the utility vehicles category of the Indian auto sector. With such targets in mind, Maruti Suzuki strives to rule the Indian auto market as a whole and not just dominate the small car segment. The Indian auto industry foresees to uplift its position further and subjugate the 3 rd spot by 2020.
Click Here to more images of Maruti's first ever SUV Concept, XA Alpha
