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Mr Kinji Saito, Director-Marketing, Maruti Udyog Ltd., at the launch of the Grand Vitara XL-7 in Gurgaon on Monday. — Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , Dec. 8

WITHIN a year of launching its maiden sports-utility-vehicle (SUV), the Grand Vitara XL-7, Maruti Udyog on Monday announced the roll out of an upgraded version of the vehicle.

Priced at a premium of Rs 21,000 over the earlier variant, the new Vitara comes at a price of Rs 16.98 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), Mr Kinji Saito, Director (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Udyog said at a press conference here.

The new SUV will be powered with a 166-brake horsepower engine.

This will make it the most powerful SUV in India, the company said.

The earlier variant had a maximum power output of 154 bhp.

The Grand Vitara is being imported as a completely built unit (CBU) from Suzuki Motor Corporation.

Further, the vehicle carries a few external changes.

The Grand Vitara XL-7 would not be sold through dealers.

It would instead be sold through a separate marketing team that has been formed to invite customers for test-driving the vehicle.

Meanwhile, speaking on Maruti's plans for the coming months, Mr Saito said that the company would be raising prices next month.

Higher input costs and the strengthening of the yen are responsible for this.

However, he did not specify the quantum of the increase or the models that would be affected, saying that these details are still being worked out.

Further, with its aluminium foundry functional, Maruti is aiming to save Rs 70 crore in manufacturing costs per year, and about Rs 2,000 per car.

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Maruti rolls out upgraded version of Grand Vitara

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