India's biggest carmaker Maruti Udyog Ltd on Thursday launched a variant of premium mid-size sedan Baleno and announced a price cut on its existing versions.

The new version, Baleno LXi, has been priced at Rs 560,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), a company statement said in New Delhi.

The Baleno, which has a relatively high import content, will now be cheaper by Rs 25,000.

MUL has decided to pass on the benefits of the cut in customs duty to customers, it said.

The prices of two existing variants of Baleno -- VXi and Altura -- have been reduced by Rs 25,702 and Rs 25,000, respectively. The VXi will sport a price tag of Rs 629,000, while the Altura has been priced at Rs 678,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new variant retains the 1,590 cc engine with 94 brake horse power and has features like anti-submarine seats, tilt steering, central locking and electrically adjustable outside rear view mirrors.

The cumulative (April-December 2003) sales of Baleno grew by nearly four times over the same period in the previous year.