Reasons Why We Think Maruti Won’t Launch The Jimny In India | V3Cars

It Can’t Put A Dent On Mahindra Thar Sales

More than the looks of the Mahindra Thar, its the sheer presence and width of the Thar which gains eyeballs. The same can not be said for the Jimny. While the Jimny does look like a proper SUV, it is a lot smaller than the Thar. Maruti Suzuki stated that they will consider a 5-door Jimny for the Indian market. While a  5-door Jimny will obviously be longer than the 3-door Jimny, we do not expect it to become wider. So it’s clear that the Thar looks more intimidating on the road, and let’s face it, it plays a big role in this niche segment.

In addition to that, the Suzuki Jimny gets a 1.5L normal petrol engine that also powers the new Ertiga, XL6 and other Suzuki models. If you know the basics of off-roading, then you would know the importance of low-end torque to pull you out of tricky situations. The Mahindra Thar comes with one petrol and one diesel engine option — both are turbocharged with standard 4WD. The Jimny cannot hold a candle against the Thar with its relatively small normal petrol engine. Additionally, a large portion of Thar’s sales come from the diesel variants whereas the Jimny doesn’t get a diesel engine.

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Thar Can Eat Into Jimny’s Market

With the road presence and performance already falling in Mahindra’s favour, Maruti Suzuki may try to keep the Jimny affordable for the masses by undercutting the Mahindra Thar. The Thar is a bigger SUV, gets better off-road hardware and better performance too, and all that comes at a price, which Maruti Suzuki can possibly undercut.

However, that’s where things start to get interesting. Remember the 3 mStallion engines shown at the 2020 Auto Expo by Mahindra? While the 2.0L turbo petrol already powers the new Scorpio, XUV700 and the Thar, the 1.2L turbo petrol and the 1.5L turbo petrol are yet to be introduced in Mahindra’s portfolio. If Mahindra decides to equip the Thar with the 1.5L turbo petrol to reduce its price to compete with the Jimny, then we don’t see many enthusiasts buying the smaller, less powerful Jimny. Hence, by using the smaller 1.5L turbo petrol in the Thar, Mahindra will easily make a cut in Jimny’s pie.

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Can The Government Save The Jimny?

The first generation of the current Jimny, the Gypsy, has been serving the Indian Army for a while now. However, in 2020, Maruti Suzuki supplied the last batch of Gypsy SUVs to the Indian Army. Since then, the Indian Army are looking for a replacement for the ageing Gypsy. The new Jimny could be the ideal replacement if Maruti Suzuki can crack a deal. But Mahindra and Tata Motors are keen tapping into this market with their respective SUVs too. In fact, Tata Motors supplied 5,000 units of the now-discontinued Safari Storme SUV to the Indian Army.

Long story short, the Jimny would be targeting a niche segment that is dominated by the Mahindra Thar. In global markets, the Jimny is very popular since it’s a decent off-roader at an affordable price. However, the Indian market works differently. Maruti Suzuki need volumes to justify the investment and from what we can understand, only the Indian army can help our dreams of seeing Jimny in India come true.

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