Plans for an all-electric Suzuki Jimny seem to have taking a U-turn. The Jimny will continue to be petrol-powered only for the near future as electrifying the 4x4 "would ruin" it, according to president, Toshiro Suzuki while spekaing to Autocar UK.
- Jimny EV launch was planned to take place before 2030
- May not go into production, according to Toshiro Suzuki
- Jimny petrol on sale in Europe, UK as a commercial vehicle
Jimny EV may not have the right weight: Suzuki
On the sidelines of the e Vitara’s global debut, Toshihiro Suzuki has appeared to dash any speculation. "If you talk about the Jimny EV, I think it would ruin the best part of the Jimny," he said. "I think the core strength of the Jimny is the right weight."
Instead, Toshihiro Suzuki wants to focus on continuing the Jimny line with "professionals". "If we want to keep providing the Jimny to the market as tools for the professionals, maybe the e-fuel, or biofuel utilising the ICE technology would be the way to keep the Jimmy supported in the future."
While the Jimny was launched in India only recently, the SUV has a strong cult following overseas, including markets like Europe and the UK, where it has been on sale since the 70s. The Jimny is sold in Europe as a commercial vehicle only, due to the high levels of CO2 it emits.
Suzuki did hint at an all-electric Jimny when a silhouette of a similar SUV was shown along with some other future EV models by the brand. There were talks about a petrol-hybrid variant also being readied.
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