Rebadging, or badge-engineering, is a long-standing industry practice where the same car is sold under different brand names with minimal changes. In India, this strategy has expanded rapidly in the last decade, driven by cost savings, localisation benefits, and faster product launches. But as the practice becomes more common, the question of brand dilution is becoming harder to ignore.
Toyota & Maruti Suzuki: Shared Platforms & Separate Badges
Toyota and Maruti Suzuki’s alliance began in 2017. The first product, the Glanza, launched in 2019, was a rebadged Baleno. More followed: the Urban Cruiser (Vitara Brezza), Urban Cruiser Hyryder (Grand Vitara), Rumion (Ertiga), and most recently, the Taisor (Fronx).
From May 2023 to April 2024, nearly 44% of Toyota’s India sales came from rebadged Maruti models. Toyota positions these models at a slight premium, but component sharing, localisation, and shared assembly lines cut costs drastically. Maruti handles manufacturing, and Toyota offers strong-hybrid tech in select models like the Hyryder. None of these rebadged cars are Toyotas, they’re just renamed Marutis, even made in the Maruti factory. They serve as volume models and keep dealers happy, while original Toyota products such as the Innova Hycross, Fortuner, Camry & the Hilux are positioned as premium offerings.
Hyundai & Kia: Internal Differentiation, Common Foundations
Hyundai owns a controlling stake in Kia. Both brands share platforms, engines, and even interiors. The Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta, for instance, are built on the same K2 platform and use the same 1.5L petrol and diesel engines. Similarly, the Carens and Alcazar share drivetrains and seating layouts. The Creta and Seltos & the Venue and Sonet are examples of identical cars shared by these brands.
Unlike Toyota-Maruti, Hyundai and Kia maintain more distinct styling, interiors, and feature sets. Kia models are often tuned slightly differently, and visual identity plays a bigger role. Yet under the skin, the mechanical architecture remains identical. Kia usually has a sportier appeal with stiffer suspension, yet the car itself is exactly the same.
Volkswagen & Skoda: Two Badges, One Engineering Centre
Skoda and Volkswagen, both part of the VW Group, have followed a top-down badge-sharing strategy under the India 2.0 programme. The Skoda Kushaq and VW Taigun share the same MQB-A0-IN platform, along with the 1.0L and 1.5L TSI engines. The same applies to the Slavia-Virtus pair, not to mention lots of similar pairings even in global offerings such as the Jetta-Octavia, Passat-Superb & Tiguan Allspace-Kodiaq.
Key components such as the chassis, suspension geometry, and powertrains are identical. Engineering and manufacturing are handled by Skoda Auto India. Volkswagen tends to have slightly better interior quality and stiffer suspension to maintain a sportier edge, while the Skoda versions of the cars usually have softer more comfort oriented suspension setups and are priced slightly below their Volkswagen twins due to brand positioning.
Conclusion
Rebadging in India stems from the need to optimise development costs, reduce time-to-market, and leverage localisation. Brands employ this strategy to cut costs and sometimes charge a premium for the same car. It helps multiple brands pool their resources to achieve better outcomes without committing too much.
