As per CarandBike, bookings of the 'made-to-order' Maruti Gypsy will be closed next month. That said, production will continue till March 2019 to clear the order backlog. The mini off-road vehicle will be discontinued by 31 March 2019 owing to its inability to meet the stringent safety norms that come into effect on 1 April 2019.
Also See - Next-gen Maruti Suzuki Gypsy concept- Rendering
The Maruti Gypsy was first introduced in India in December 1985. Based on the long-wheelbase Suzuki Jimny SJ40/410 series, it has been a favourite of the armed forces and car rallyists. It was initially available with a 970 cc F10A Suzuki engine but later received the all-aluminium eight-valve G13BA engine and a wider track. Other than this, the off-road-ready model has remained largely unchanged in more than three decades of its existence.
As per the new guidelines, the Maruti Gypsy would have required to start offering a driver's side airbag, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors, front seatbelt reminder (SBR), speed alert warning system, speed-sensing auto lock and impact-sensing door unlock to comply with the new safety regulations. Also, Maruti Suzuki would have had to upgrade the body structure to attain compliance with the stricter crash test norms. The company has found it unfeasible to upgrade the off-roader and has chosen to discontinue it.
In 2017, Tata Motors bagged an order for supplying the Safari Storme as a personnel carrier vehicle to the Indian army. As a part of the contract, the company will deliver 3,192 units of the Storme to the military. With this, our armed forces will move away from the GS 500 (General Service 500 kg) platform, which includes the Maruti Gypsy, to a GS 800 (800 kg) platform.
Also See: Next-gen Suzuki Jimny to get a unique platform, ALLGRIP 'Pro.'
While there have been pretty strong rumours of the latest generation Suzuki Jimny being India-bound, the carmaker has made it clear that it has no intentions of launching the pint-sized off-roader in our country. The company doesn't see a market for a 3-door off-road-oriented vehicle here.
[Source - auto.ndtv.com]
