The Japanese carmaker is planning to make India the only production hub for the five-door Suzuki Jimny SUV. Initially, the company might import the components and assemble its 3-door version at Maruti Suzuki’s Gurugram based plant. By 2022-23, Suzuki Motor plans to manufacture 3 and 5-door Jimny in India. Both models will be developed mostly locally sourced components. The report further states that the carmaker has been in talks with local vendors for the last 6 months.
With this move, Maruti Suzuki will be able to increase its exports share in production up to 20% from 7%. Currently, the Suzuki Jimny has been produced at the carmaker’s Kosai based facility in Japan. The plant has 4.9 lakh units of annual production capacity. If reports are to be believed, the Indo-Japanese carmaker might launch the Jimny compact off-road SUV sometime next year.
Recently, Suzuki Motor reintroduced the Jimnny 4X4 small SUV as a commercial vehicle in the European market. The model was discontinued as it doesn’t meet the stricter emission regulations. Compared to the standard version, the new commercial-spec model offers 33-litres more boot space with the rear seats folded down. The rear bench has been removed for creating more cargo area. It has a safety partition that prevents luggage moving into the front compartment. Read – 7 Maruti Suzuki Cars To Launch In India
No changes have been made under the hood. The commercial-spec Suzuki Jimny uses the same 1.5L petrol engine that’s good for 100bhp. It comes with part-time 4WD system. The small SUV’s approach, departure and ramp over angles stand at 37 degree, 49 degree and 28 degree respectively. The Euro-spec Jimny received a 3 star safety rating in the Euro NCAP crash test. Its safety kit includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), 6 airbags, a seat-belt reminder, ISOFIX child-seat mounts and a lane-assist system. The India-spec model might miss out some of these fitments.
Suzuki Jimny First Look Video
