Maruti Suzuki Jimny will more likely be introduced in India in early 2022 and is expected to be powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine
Rumours swirling around the arrival of the Jimny to India have been seemingly ever-existent since the latest generation debuted back in 2018. The fourth-gen Suzuki Jimny has been well received in the global market and it exceeded the brand’s expectations as the production had to be ramped up to meet the demand.
The three-door Jimny was displayed by Maruti Suzuki at the 2020 Auto Expo in Greater Noida to gauge reactions and it was positively received amongst show-goers and media alike. Adding fuel to the fire, the production of the Jimny commenced in India earlier this year for the export markets such as Africa and the Middle East.
Initially, the batch containing 184 units headed to Latin America and the small off-roader produced at Maruti Suzuki’s Gurugram plant shares the same specification as the export models rolled out of the Kosai plant in Japan. Last month, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, MSIL told in an interview that a “market plan for the Jimny” is being readied for India.
While it almost confirmed the Jimny’s arrival, it was said that MSIL was working on the marketing and pricing plans for the model. The Jimny was confirmed to be in the evaluation stage earlier this year as well and a launch could happen around early next year. A few months ago, the long-wheelbase version of the Jimny was caught on camera and it could be considered for India as well.
However, initially, the existing three-door model will more likely debut and it could have some India-specific changes. The Jimny could be powered by the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder K15B petrol engine producing a maximum power output of 104.7 PS and 138 Nm of peak torque and it could be linked with a five-speed manual or a four-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The mild-hybrid tech could assist in boosting performance while off-roading. It is suspected to compete in the lifestyle off-roader space currently dominated by Mahindra Thar and Force’s new Gurkha will join the party in the coming months.