Suzuki Jimny India production paused since October

Maruti Suzuki will introduce the five-door Jimny in India by August next year. The Jimny, in its three door bodystyle, was shown at the Auto Expo 2020 and had gathered tremendous customer response. This, along with its SUV credentials and a compact footprint has prompted Maruti Suzuki to introduce the SUV in India.

Suzuki Jimny 3-door production currently paused

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) had been building the three-door version of the Jimny SUV in its Haryana plant since January 2021, and exporting it to both left- and right-hand-drive markets like Africa and the Middle East. However, according to information revealed to our sister publication Autocar Professional, the company stopped production of the three-door Jimny at this facility in October.

The assembly line inside MSIL’s Gurgaon plant, which was earlier dedicated to the now discontinued Gypsy SUV, and was being used to produce the three-door Jimny, is now being upgraded to manufacture the India-specific, five-door Jimny SUV (codename: YWD) from April 2023. The five-door Jimny will remain under four metres in length and is likely to offer 210mm of ground clearance like its three-door export version.

Maruti Suzuki will continue to have a separate assembly line for the Jimny, similar to the erstwhile Gypsy, as the former also has a body-on-frame construction. Monocoque vehicles like the XL6, Ertiga and Eeco are also produced at the same plant.

Maruti Jimny 5-door: production likely to be around 6,000 units a month

Autocar Professional has learnt that MSIL is targeting to produce around 5,000-6,000 units of the five-door Jimny each month. There are talks that the SUV could be rebranded as the Gypsy, thereby resurrecting the iconic brand in India after it was discontinued in 2018 due to stricter emission, crash and safety norms.

Maruti Jimny 5-door: powertrain details

As far as engine options go, the Jimny will come with a sole 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine good for 102hp. This same powerplant currently sees duty on the Ciaz, but has been replaced by the more advanced K15C engine in models like the Ertiga, Brezza, XL6 and the Grand Vitara. The SUV will continue to come with a four-speed automatic and a five-speed manual gearbox option.

The Jimny will strengthen Maruti Suzuki’s assault in the SUV category, which has been witnessing surging demand owing to buyer preferences, and now contributes to over 50 percent of new car sales in the country.

Maruti Jimny 5-door: Maruti’s Thar, Gurkha rival

The upcoming Jimny SUV will be positioned as a family lifestyle vehicle to compete against the Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha, and will empower India’s largest carmaker to grow its overall share in the country by introducing more SUVs – a segment where it is keen to increase its market share.