3-door Jimny production halted, 5-door variant production to begin soon

For the longest, we have known that the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has been producing its lifestyle off-road SUV the three-door Jimny in India, and exporting it. Although just recently it has been reported by Autocar India that the company has halted the production of this highly popular SUV at its production plant in Gurugram. The reason for this pause has been accredited to the upgradation of the production line to accommodate the upcoming Jimny five-door SUV for our domestic market. Sources have claimed that the production has been paused since October.

Previously the same production line that currently produces the three-door Jimny was used to produce Maruti Suzuki’s iconic off-roader Gypsy. Now once the company debuts the five-door Jimny in the country, it will start producing it in the same production line. It has been reported that the company will most probably take the covers off of the highly anticipated Jimny five-door next month in January 2023. Codenamed as the YWD, the SUV has been spotted testing around the country on numerous occasions.

Before the production was paused, the company produced three door Jimny at the Gurugram plant and exported it to both left- and right-hand-drive markets of Africa and the Middle East. At the plant the company is believed to continue having a separate production line for the ladder on frame chassis Jimny siblings.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki greenlights Jimny for launch in India

According to reports, MSIL is aiming to produce to around 5000-6000 units of the five door Jimny every month. And judging by the anticipation of the market for this lifestyle off-roader this number does not seem far fetched. Reports have also suggested that instead of calling it the Jimny five door, the company could be reviving the iconic Gypsy moniker to further add the nostalgic name allure.

As for the launch timeline of the Jimny five-door SUV as mentioned above the company will debut the SUV in India next month, however the market launch and pricing announcement will be held till the monsoon of next year.. According to insiders, the SUV won’t even be available for purchase until August 2023 because the company aims to market the SUV as more of a lifestyle car with appropriate off-road equipment as the monsoon season among enthusiasts is revered as the off-road season.

In other Jimny news, just a few days it was reported that the SUV is slated to use the older K15B petrol engine that powers the 3-door version. Recently Maruti Suzuki switched a majority of its vehicles from the K15B petrol engine to the newer and more advanced K15C engine and the same was expected for the Jimny five door SUV. Although it now appears that the company will be powering the forthcoming SUV with the same 1,462 cc, four-cylinder, normally aspirated petrol engine powering that produces 102 Ps and 130 Nm of maximum torque. Both a 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmission will be offered with this engine.

Additionally The K15B engine in the Jimny would not come with the newly introduced 6-speed automatic transmission as it is only available with K15C series engine, instead it will come with Suzuki’s AllGrip Pro 4WD system. Furthermore, the K15B engine in the Jimny would be available with mild hybrid system that would help in increasing the overall fuel efficiency of the SUV.

Also read: Upcoming 2022 Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza rendered