Maruti Suzuki has finally started assembling the Jimny SUV in India ahead of its launch next year. Maruti Suzuki have assembled 50 units of the three-door Jimny at their Gurugram facility from CKD kits that have been imported from Japan. This is essentially a trial assembly of the three-door Jimny in India. These Maruti Suzuki Jimny's have been assembled on a line similar to the one used for the Gypsy which is also a body-on-frame SUV.
India will be a manufacturing hub for the three-door Jimny that will be primarily sent for exports. When Maruti Suzuki actually launches the Jimny in India, it will be a five-door model instead of the traditional three-door model that's sold everywhere else in the world. Maruti Suzuki officials are of the impression that a three-door Jimny just wouldn't work here in India. It is a five-door model that's needed for the Indian market, despite the added expenses and time needed to re-engineer the SUV.
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The Maruti Suzuki Jimny has a similar body-on-frame construction as that of the origial Gypsy and the Mahindra Thar as well. It is powered by the same K15B petrol engine that you find in a lot of other Maruti Suzuki cars like the Vitara Brezza and the Ciaz. The 105hp 1.5L engine is however longitudinally mounted in Jimny, driving the rear or all-four wheels. It's very different from monocoque based Brezza where the engine is transversely mounted, driving only the front wheels.
The Jimny also gets similar transmission options like other Maruti Suzuki cars - a 5-speed manual and 4-speed torque convertor automatic. Meanwhile, a four-wheel drive system with a low range transfer case comes as standard. We expect the 5-door India-spec Jimny to have similar engine and gearbox options as well. The Mk4 Jimny sold abroad is only made at Suzuki’s Kosai plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan currently.
From this year, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny will be manufactured in India as well, at the company's Hansalpur in the State of Gujarat. Both the global 3-door version and the new 5-door version will be made there. The former's production will begin first, but only for exports. The Japan-only Kei variant of 3-door global version will continue being manufactured exclusively at the Kosai plant. When launched, it will rival the Mahindra Thar, which too will be launched as a five-door model sometime in the future.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Maruti Suzuki updates and other four-wheeler news.
[News Source - Autocar India]
