Maruti Suzuki Jimny is certainly one of the much-awaited new cars planned for the next year. The company will bring in 5-door version of the off-road SUV that will take on the upcoming 5-door Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha. According to a fresh report, the 5-door Maruti Jimny will be offered with two seating configurations – 5 and 7-seats.
The model was slated to enter into production in February 2023. Though, it has been delayed due to semi-conductor shortage. The company is reported to begin the Jimny’s pre-production trails towards the end of June 2022. In the first phase, the model will be manufactured with around 70 percent locally sourced components. Maruti Suzuki will gradually increase its localization levels and it aims to produce nearly 75,000 units in its initial years.
The report further states that the Indo-Japanese automaker hasn’t yet received board and officials’ approval to manufacture diesel Jimny, but they are working on it. While the new Maruti Jimny 7-seater will challenge the Mahindra Thar, its 5-seater version is likely to measure sub-4 metre in length. In terms of pricing, the latter one will be significantly cheaper than the Thar.
The new Maruti Jimny will come with a 1.5L petrol engine delivering a peak power of 102PS at 6,000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. The off-road SUV will underpin the ladder frame chassis and come with Suzuki’s Allgrip Pro 4 wheel drive technology, 3-link rigid axle suspension and a low range transfer gear.
At present, the Japanese automaker sells the Jimny in 194 markets across the globe. The company assembles its 3-door version via CKD kit in India for export markets including Columbia and Peru. In other updates, Maruti Suzuki will introduce its first mid-size SUV near around 2022 Diwali season. Codenamed YFG, the model will be co-developed with Toyota and share its underpinning, engine, features and design elements with the upcoming Toyota Hyryder SUV.
