Suzuki Jimny five-door reportedly coming this year

Maruti Suzuki India commenced production of the Suzuki Jimny for the first time this week, potentially shortening the waiting times of up to 12 months for some versions of Australia’s version, which is sourced from Japan.

The iconic small off-roader will be exported from India to Latin America, Middle East and African markets, and the first shipment of 184 units left New Delhi’s Mundra port bound for Columbia and Peru on January 22.

“With India as a production base for Jimny, Suzuki aims to leverage Maruti Suzuki’s global production stature,” said Maruti Suzuki this week.

“As there is a large customer demand worldwide well beyond Suzuki Japan capacity for this model, Indian manufacturing will supplement capacity to meet this global demand.”

Maruti Suzuki India CEO and managing director Kenichi Ayukawa said his company’s version of the three-door 4x4 will be the same spec as that produced in Japan.

Launched in 2018, the fourth-generation Suzuki Jimny is powered by a 75kW/130Nm K15B 1.5-litre petrol engine matched with a low-range transfer case and both five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions.

“Jimny will fulfill aspirations of customers throughout the world,” he said. “Jimny manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Gurugram plant shares the same specification as the export models produced at the Suzuki Motor Corporation’s Kosai plant in Japan. We are confident with Jimny we will be able to enhance our overall exports.”

Also this week, Autocar India has reported that Maruti Suzuki will launch the first five-door version of the Jimny for India in about six months, with production models destined for local and export markets.

The publication, which previously reported that the first Jimny five-door would emerge in India by the end of 2020, said the new model will be the same spec as the three-door but with a longer wheelbase and a bigger cabin with a body that will stretch from 3645mm to almost four metres.

Suzuki Australia is yet to confirm what impact Indian production of the Jimny may have on Australian waiting lists, or whether the five-door will be sold here.

However, Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota previously told carsales he is keen to release any new derivatives of the popular model.

“The [previous] report is not based on any official publication or statement from Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and no confirmation of such a model has been communicated to date,” he said.

“I will say, Suzuki Australia does have its hand held high if there is ever a possibility of this variant in future, as per my previous statements in 2019 when asked if there will be a five-door variant available.

“Jimny is an amazing product that, even presented with current challenges in market, still continues in very high demand. Any further variants would be growing that incredible order bank even further, especially if we ever start marketing any of them.”

Suzuki Australia already sources the Baleno hatchback from the Japanese brand's Indian manufacturing plant, alongside models from Hungary (Vitara) and Japan (Swift), where three-door Jimny production is maxxed out at around 60,000 vehicles per year.

The car-maker’s Australian arm has always said it would be interested in further Jimny variants, with Pachota saying at the model’s local launch in early 2019 that he was also pushing for a ute version.

“I am pushing for the development for a ute-back Jimny in Australia,” Pachota told carsales at the time.

“Australian consumers can’t wait to get their hands on a ute version, so I’m pushing very hard with the factory to try and get that into Australia.”

In the absence of an affordable compact ute like the Subaru Brumby in the market, a born-again Suzuki ‘Samurai’ like the one already independently engineered in New Zealand could well be another winner for Suzuki.

Suzuki Jimny five-door renders: Nikita Chuyko