Has the Suzuki Jimny just gone electric?

The Hengrun HRS1 compact EV has just launched in China, cutting a striking resemblance to the Suzuki Jimny and providing zero-emissions motoring for only about $10,000.

Powered by a small 33kW/140Nm electric motor and offering a 305km (NEDC) range from its 28kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the tiny all-electric urban runabout is unlikely to have the off-road prowess of the unstoppable Jimny.

But along with its green credentials, the 2021 Hengrun HRS1 does have a top speed of 102km/h and similar overall proportions to the Japanese 4x4 off-roader that’s in high demand and attracting higher-than-new prices on the used car market in Australia.

The pumped wheel-arches and boxy shape will see eyebrows raised among the Jimny faithful, but the spare wheel on the tailgate is nowhere to be seen and there are differences in the front and rear styling.

For example, the front-end features slim rectangular headlight clusters, not circular units like the Jimny.

The Hengrun HRS1 is also slightly larger, measuring 3560mm in length, compared to the Suzuki Jimny’s 3480mm.

Chinese car companies have a chequered past when it comes to copycat designs, but the country is beginning to evolve its own car design ethos as time goes on. And especially when companies like Land Rover instigate legal action over stolen IP.

Built by Hunan Hengrun Automobile, a relatively small Chinese auto-maker pumping out around 100,000 vehicles per annum, the HRS1 has seating for four, a number of USB ports and a compact digital instrument cluster in place of the Jimny’s analogue dials.

There’s also a small central infotainment touch-screen system with reversing camera.

The Hengrun HRS1 is unlikely to ever see the light of day in Australia, unless a small independent importer is given the green light to sell it in limited numbers.

And it could hold some appeal for Aussie buyers, particularly with interest in EVs escalating and as the waiting list for Jimny stretches to almost 12 months.

The Jimny is also fairly expensive for what you get, with price rises taking the cost of admission to $28,490 plus on-road costs for the five-speed manual and $29,990 for the four-speed automatic. It was a $23,990 vehicle when it first arrived in late 2018.

Suzuki will build spin-off models of the compact mud-slinger in the form a stretched five-door Jimny Long in 2022 and possibly even a Jimny ute.

But an EV? It’s years away.