2020 Suzuki Jimny prices rise

If you had your eye on a new Suzuki Jimny, we've got some bad news for you – the price has just gone up by $2000.

The 2020 Suzuki Jimny is identical to the previous year's model save for the addition of power-folding mirrors – a rather steep $2000 addition.

Australian sales of the Jimny slumped by around 50 per cent in January 2020, compared to the same last year, suggesting the strong demand for the boxy small SUV has eased.

Despite a poor three-star ANCAP safety rating, a low-tech powertrain and waning customer demand for the eye-catching Suzuki Jimny off-roader, the new starting price of $25,990 for the five-speed manual and $27,990 for the four-speed auto represents a $2000 increase.

It comes off the back of a previous $1000 price rise in late 2019 that coincided with the vehicle's improved five-year, unlimited-km and 12-month intervals for its capped-price services.

The return of a Suzuki Jimny ute has not been ruled out by executives at the Japanese brand, and car tuners have created a number of fanciful mods for the tiny tacker, including the Dronco -- an homage to the Ford Bronco.

While the Suzuki Jimny continues to be a cult classic, with overall global demand outstripping supply, sales in Europe are expected to be halted in 2021 due to new emissions regulations.

While the small 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine (75kW/130Nm) is an underpowered and unexciting engine, its CO2 emissions (146g/km) are expected to see it axed from sales in Europe.

However, the Suzuki is understood to return to the EU market without major changes to the powertrain. Instead, the Jimny will likely return to European showrooms without rear seats and a few other changes, which would make it a 'commercial' vehicle and thus exploit a CO2 loophole of sorts for the brand.

In Australia only one Jimny model grade is now offered, the GLX, in either manual or automatic.