Maruti to explore supplies of Jimny to Indian armed forces

Maruti Suzuki is all set to launch the 5-door Jimny, its much-awaited launch this year, on June 7. With the Jimny, the brand expects to boost its SUV image and help accelerate its penetration in the fastest-growing segment, where it is gunning for the leadership position in the financial year 2024.

1. 5-door Jimny will be positioned as a lifestyle SUV
2. Gets K15B petrol with manual or automatic gearbox
3. AllGrip Pro 4WD standard across line-up

Maruti Jimny 5-door developed with Rs 950 crore investment

The Jimny 5-door, an SUV with proper 4WD gear, has been specifically designed keeping the Indian lifestyle customer in mind. Maruti has spent Rs 950 crore in developing the 5-door Jimny and its off-road-ready nature makes it a strong contender for service in the Indian Army and defence forces, which have relied on the iconic Maruti Gypsy for decades, according to company executives.

Maruti Suzuki off late has doubled its SUV portfolio in India. The brand has introduced four new SUVs in the past year – the second-gen Brezza, the Grand Vitara, the Fronx and the upcoming Jimny. All of these are spread across multiple price points in the market in order to allow Maruti to quickly seize back the lost share in the highly competitive Indian passenger vehicle market.

5-door Jimny to help lifestyle SUV market bloom

Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, Sales and Marketing at Maruti Suzuki, says, “As the market matures and volumes grow, various sub-segments emerge. Even within the compact SUV segment, there are multiple sub-segments created, ie, entry SUVs [like the Tata Punch and Renault Kiger], crossover and urban SUVs like the Fronx and Brezza, and then there are lifestyle SUVs [like the Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha]. With the launch of the Jimny, the lifestyle SUV market should double.”

SUVs have become the largest segment in the Indian market accounting for 45 percent of the passenger vehicle market, overtaking the humble hatchbacks – which is Maruti Suzuki’s core – and compact SUVs within that is the highest sub-segment accounting for a quarter of the overall SUV sales. During FY23, about 8.7 lakh units of compact SUVs were sold and the Jimny is going to sit right in the heart of this sub-segment.

"At the moment, the lifestyle SUV is an emerging segment with about 50,000 units per annum. It is preferred by users who love to go off-roading, who love to travel across terrains. But there is a profile of buyers in the urban areas who want to bring some style into their life, who would want to own a vehicle like the Jimny, as a style or a status symbol, which could drive the growth of this sub-segment," added Srivastava.

The Jimny may not be a big volume contributor to this goal, however, it will play an important role in building Maruti's image of delivering capable SUVs at a time when there are 50 SUV alternatives available for prospective buyers.

3-door Jimny not favoured by Indian buyers

Maruti Suzuki did explore the possibility of launching the 3-door Jimny, but there was a resounding 'no' from the customers, and nearly 99 percent of them demanded the 5-door Jimny, which was developed exclusively for the Indian market. So far, over 3 million 3-door Jimnys have been sold worldwide. The Jimny 5-door, however, will be sold in markets like Latin America, South Africa and ASEAN nations, but not in Europe.

Instead of the K15C engine, the 5-door Jimny will be powered by the older K15B engine, which is skewed more towards performance than efficiency.