New Delhi, Dec 11: Emphasising the importance given to its Indian operations, Japanese car major Suzuki Motor Co on Tuesday said it will be rolling out its fifth global product -- to be showcased at the upcoming auto expo here as concept 'A-Star'-- only from the country.

"The A-Star is to be produced only in India, not even in Japan. This will be displayed at the Auto Expo in Delhi (in January) and it will come under SMC's 'family theme'," SMC Chairman Osamu Suzuki told reporters here.

"The production of A-Star will start by the autumn of 2008 by when export to Europe would commence," he added.

He said the new compact car will be powered by an Euro V compliant 1 litre petrol engine to be produced by Maruti Suzuki India (MSI). The manual transmission for the car will be manufactured by Suzuki Powertrain India, MSI's subsidiary.

Suzuki said, besides the A-Star, SMC was also planning to bring another global model 'Splash' to India, which will be powered by 1.2 litre petrol and diesel engines.

"The A-Star is meant mainly for export to Europe although we will sell it in India as well while the Splash manufactured in India will be meant only for domestic requirements," he said.

Asked about the time-frame for the launch of these vehicles in India, he declined to commit a specific date. He, however, said Splash would be launched in Europe in "the spring of 2008".

Maruti Suzuki India will be manufacturing about 1.5 lakh units of the A-Star from its Manesar facility. It has been expanding the capacity of the new facility to 3 lakh units by 2010.