Cars News

Suzuki Jimny To Solely Be Produced In The Indian Market – Report

Published by
Sahil Kukreja

Suzuki is not only working on bringing the Jimny to India, but the carmaker also aims to move the entire production of the SUV to the country

What seems to be a significant move for the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ movement in the automobile sector, Suzuki Motor plans to make Indian market an exclusive production hub for the Jimny SUV, according to a new report by ET Now. It should be noted that currently, the Japanese carmaker produces around 50,000 units of the off-roader per annum in its home country.

Initially, Suzuki aims to import components and assemble the globally available three-door version of the Jimny In India. However, Suzuki is also planning to launch a five-door version of the SUV, which will likely be exclusive for the Indian market.

Hence, the carmaker aims to produce both the three-door and the five-door Jimny in India with locally sourced parts by 2022-23. According to the same report, Suzuki has already approached some Indian vendors in the past 6 months, to source parts for the upcoming five-door Jimny.

Maruti Suzuki brought the three-door Jimny to this year’s Auto Expo to gauge public response in the country. However, the carmaker is planning to develop a five-door version of the car exclusively for the Indian market. Maruti Suzuki could also rebrand the Jimny in India after the iconic ‘Gypsy’ that was discontinued in the country last year.

The foreign-spec Suzuki Jimny draws power from a 1.5-litre NA petrol engine that is rated at 102 PS/130 Nm, and can be had with either a 5-speed manual transmission, or a 4-speed torque converter automatic. The India-spec Jimny will likely also be equipped with a 1.5-litre petrol engine, however, it could be the same powertrain (105 PS/138 Nm) as other Maruti Suzuki cars including Ciaz, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza etc.

The Suzuki Jimny will go on to rival the upcoming new-gen Mahindra Thar, which is set to be launched in the Indian market next month. While the Thar and Jimny belong to two different classes, they will surely give tough competition to each other.

Published by
Sahil Kukreja