Suzuki Jimny pick-up gains momentum

When Suzuki revealed the Jimny Pick-Up Style concept at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon in early January, it set tongues wagging.

But it was just a concept, a flight of fancy.

Or was it?

"I am pushing for the development for a ute-back Jimny in Australia," the general manager of Suzuki Automotive Australia, Michael Pachota, told carsales at the Jimny national launch near Melbourne.

"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," he explained.

The popularity of a Jimny ute or pick-up would be virtually guaranteed Down Under as the standard Suzuki Jimny 4x4, which launches in Australia on January 26, is already understood to be sold out for months.

Utes are selling like hotcakes in Australia – and overseas – but in this country there are no compact utes. Previously, vehicles like the Suzuki Mighty Boy, Subaru Brumby and Proton Jumbuck offered buyers smaller, two seat options but today the pick-up market is dominated by large-sized utes like the Toyota HiLux and Mitsubishi Triton.

If Suzuki did green-light a Jimny ute, it would almost certainly retain all the powertrain and chassis components of the compact 4x4. That means it would have a rugged ladder-frame like most full-sized utes, along with capable three-link rigid axle suspension setups front and rear.

Ground clearance is currently 210mm which gives the Jimny plenty of scope for serious off-roading.

Power is provided by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine worth 75kW and 130Nm. That doesn't sound like much but the Jimny weighs 1075kg, so the power-to-weight ratio isn't too bad.

Five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions are offered on the Jimny.

If the go-ahead is given for a Jimny ute, it would have a small tray in the back and would probably extend the vehicle's size beyond the 4x4's 3625mm length.

Pachota says the compact ute would be pitched at farmers but given the Jimny's cult status – and tiny size – it would probably find favour with hipsters living in cities and suburbs.

"Our country has a high agricultural presence for farmers and people working the land. The Jimny Sierra has always been an iconic car on any farm or property and those vehicles out there on those farms are still running today. They won't break down."

One the biggest issues facing the deployment of a compact ute would be its place of manufacture. The Jimny is built at Suzuki's Kosai Plant in Japan and annual production is already maxed out at about 60,000 units per annum.

Nevertheless, Pachota explained that negotiations with Suzuki HQ in Japan are ongoing and that the Aussie operation's rapport with the global company is not insubstantial.

"Australia's influence takes a high play in terms of the design, research, development and new concepts that SMC plans to develop."

Thus far the wait list for the Suzuki Jimny in its biggest market (Japan) has already pushed beyond a year and the Aussie wait list could be the same. Australian pricing for Jimny will be confirmed on Friday January 25 but it's unlikely to be as affordable as the previous model's $21,990 outlay.

Suzuki sells about three million cars per year globally, with just over half of those sales in India, the brand's biggest market.