Jimny 5-door is expected to be showcased at the Japan Mobility Show later this month.
Maruti Suzuki has begun exporting the made-in-India Jimny 5-door to several international markets, including the Middle East, Latin America and Africa regions. India is the only country that manufactures the off-roader in five-door body style.
- Jimny 5-door exported to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America regions
- Will not be sold in Europe with petrol engine
- Gets the same 1.5-litre petrol as the India-spec car
The Jimny 5-door for exports will have minor region-specific differences, however, there will not be any changes to its powertrain or off-road gear. The rugged ladder-frame SUV comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
The Jimny 5-door made its debut at the Auto Expo in January and went on sale in India back in June. Earlier this year, Maruti Suzuki had said it planned to build over one lakh units of the SUV, with around 66 percent of the total production aimed at domestic sales, and the rest for exports. Domestic sales of the Jimny 5-door in India are currently averaging at around 3,000 units a month, and the SUV is available for ready delivery at some outlets, depending on the inventory and variant.
Sources tell us that the made-in-India Jimny 5-door will be showcased at the Japan Mobility Show later this month, and this is possibly the first time the Maruti off-roader is debuting outside India.
Jimny 5-door not for Europe
While the made-in-India Jimny will be sold in multiple international markets, the SUV will not go on sale in Europe, at least not as a passenger vehicle, due to strict emissions norms. As we’ve reported before, the 1.5-litre K15B engine does not clear the emissions regulations that are in effect in the EU where each carmaker can have a maximum fleet average of 95g of CO2/km. The Suzuki K15B engine does not feature any type of electrification, and on the Jimny, it emits high level of CO2. This had led Suzuki to pull the plug on the Jimny 3-door from the European market in January 2020.
The Jimny 3-door did make a comeback in the UK and Europe later as a commercial vehicle. It does not get a second row of seats, but gets a cargo bay and safety partition behind the front seats.
Suzuki Jimny EV will go on sale in Europe first
In February this year, Suzuki released teasers of its future EV models, which included the all-electric Jimny. The SUV will go on sale with an electric powertrain in Europe first and will initially come in the 3-door body style. A 5-door Jimny EV is expected to follow suit later. However, Maruti will first bring the Creta-sized eVX SUV to India as its debut born-EV product in late 2024.
Also see:
Maruti eVX interior to be revealed at Tokyo Motor Show
Maruti Suzuki Jimny real world fuel economy tested, explained