India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, which introduced the successor to its immensely successful off-roader Gypsy in the Indian market in the form of the five-door Jimny SUV earlier this year in June, has ruled out the possibilities of a cheaper, two-wheel-drive (2WD) variant of this globally-acclaimed SUV, known for its go-anywhere abilities.
The compact Jimny, which was re-engineered into a five-door version specifically for the Indian market, has not seen a great start in terms of sales volumes, which have hovered in the 3,000-unit monthly ballpark since launch. The reason for the Jimny’s slow offtake can be primarily attributed to its intended positioning as an off-road vehicle and the slightly optimistic pricing.
While the Jimny comes priced in the range of Rs 12.84 lakh to Rs 14.89 lakh, ex-showroom, the optimistic pricing has aroused customer feedback for a less expensive 2WD version.
According to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India, “While we have received feedback from several customers asking for a 2WD variant of the Jimny, it will go against the Jimny’s core brand ethos.”
“Globally, Jimny is an off-roader, and it will be a dilution to the brand if we introduce a two-wheel drive variant. Therefore, a 2WD Jimny is not in active consideration, and we will continue to sell the 4WD version,” Srivastava added while addressing the media in a press conference on December 1.
To give a boost to the relatively sluggish sales of the Jimny in the carmaker’s portfolio, Maruti Suzuki had introduced discounts of up to Rs 1 lakh during Diwali, and has become more aggressive with the schemes by slashingthe prices of the entry-level manual-transmission variants by Rs 2 lakh for a limited period, starting December, to make it available at Rs 10.74 lakh, ex-showroom.
As per Srivastava, it was the lesser availability of components for the automatic variants that skewed initial production towards the manual variants, leading to the significant discounts for a limited period, but the supply chain has now improved considerably.