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While the much awaited five-door Jimny is all set to go on sale in India on June 7, sources tell us that the longer version of the popular Jimny 3-door will not be sold in Europe, at least as a passenger vehicle.
- K15B engine does not meet European emission regulations
- Jimny 3 door now sold in Europe as a commercial vehicle
- Installing the K15C would require a lot of re-engineering
No 5 door Jimny for Europe
The made-in-India Jimny 5 door continues to use the K15B 1.5-litre engine, which is the same powerplant that's available on the Jimny 3 door globally. There’s a 660cc twin turbo engine available too, but only in Japan.
As reported by us in January 2020, Suzuki had to pull the plug on the Jimny in Europe and the UK due to the stricter emissions norms that came in to effect in 2021; each carmaker can have a maximum fleet average of 95g of CO2/km. The Suzuki K15B engine does not feature any type of electrification and on the Jimny 3 door it emits 154g/km (for the MT) and 170g/km (for the automatic) of CO2, which is quite high.
In order to achieve the 95g CO2 target, Suzuki had already stopped selling diesel vehicles in Europe a few years ago, and subsequently, had to pull the plug on the Jimny 3 door as well. The brand later introduced more mass market models with 48V mild-hybrid tech in order to push Suzuki’s CO2 average in Europe.
But there’s a catch
The Jimny 3 door did make a comeback in Europe as an N1 commercial vehicle and continues to be on sale even now. It does not get the second row of seats, but instead gets a cargo bay and a safety partition behind the front seats. The brand could do the same for the Jimny 5 door in the European market and introduce it under the N1 commercial vehicle category to avoid stricter emissions rules. Suzuki, in fact, did test a long wheelbase Jimny 3 door in Europe back in 2021, however, there has been no sighting of that mule since then.
Why did the Jimny not get a new engine?
As reported by us recently, the Jimny sits on a ladder frame set-up with a longitudinal mounted engine. To install the newer mild hybrid-equipped K15C engine or even the 1.0-litre Boosterjet, Suzuki would’ve had to re-engineer quite a bit as the emissions benefits were too little compared to the K15B engine. And, the SUV would still not clear the stricter regulations in markets like Europe. Suzuki also believes that the K15B’s stronger bottom-end grunt is more suited to the Jimny’s off-road application than the K15C, which focuses on maximising fuel efficiency.
Additionally, the K15B is already on duty on the 3 door Jimny globally and India being one of the manufacturing and export hubs has achieved significant levels of localisation. Hence, continuing to use the K15B makes it economically viable to have a common powertrain between the 3-door and 5-door versions, and also helps simplify production processes with better economies of scale.
While the K15B engine has been replaced with the cleaner and electrified K15C 1.5-litre engine on almost every Maruti model in India, the older K15B still meets India’s BS6 Phase-II emissions norms, which came into effect recently, and thus, continue to solider on in the Ciaz and Jimny in India.
Which markets will get the Jimny 5 door
Apart from India, the made-in-India Jimny 5 door – in passenger configuration – will be sold in Latin America, South Africa and a few other African and ASEAN nations, primarily markets where the K15B engine clears emissions norms.
Also See:
Why the Maruti Jimny gets the older K15B petrol engine
Maruti Suzuki CNG, hybrid car, SUVs account for over 38 percent of FY23 sales
Maruti Dzire was bestselling sedan of FY2023
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