Even though Suzuki will manufacture the Mk4 3-door Jimny in India, Maruti Suzuki is not convinced about launching it.
Last year, C V Raman, Senior Executive Director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki, had revealed that there’s no plan to launch the 3-door Jimny. The company’s technical chief is still not sold on the thought of having the 3-door Jimny in India.
The Mk4 Suzuki Jimny was showcased in India at Auto Expo 2020. Raman admitted that it generated a lot of interest, but he suggested that the hype does not translate into market potential. Below is what he said on being asked if India will get a 3-door Jimny or a 5-door Jimny:
How much will you pay for the 3-door Jimny? For us, the 3-door version doesn’t work in the market, and there’s no point in getting it in as a CBU. We believe in localization. We also don’t believe in CKD, as that also drives up the cost. But localization requires volumes, and so we come back to the same question, how much will you pay for a 1.5-litre 3-door Jimny? You see, this has to be analysed from a business point of view. Emotions are fine, but this has to be a business decision.
As for a 5-door Jimny, while Raman had said that a 5-door Jimny doesn’t make sense because of the heavy investment it would require during the same previous occasion, this time he didn’t respond to the query, which is intriguing. Reports are rife that the 5-door Jimny plan is in action.
While the COVID-19 outbreak may have postponed the Jimny’s production in India, the next-gen Gypsy or Gypsy successor should be launched here sooner or later this fiscal. Before the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted the industry and economy, the plan was to release a 5-door Jimny codenamed ‘YWD’ in our market in November.
The 5-door Jimny will share the K15B engine with the Ertiga, XL6, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza. The 1.5-litre petrol mill should be available with 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmissions. The bigger version will be manufactured at Suzuki’s Hansalpur plant in the State of Gujarat and be sold via NEXA dealerships.
Also See: This is how 2021 Maruti Gypsy (5-door Suzuki Jimny) could look like in real life
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Maruti Suzuki updates and other four-wheeler news.
[Source: autox.com]
