[ishekk]

Anyone who says that if Jimny had been launched in its 3 doors version then it would have been a success, then he is wrong. There just no market for 4x4 in India. Thar sells in numbers because of its looks and because of its feel like a lifestyle product. Very very few people go for serious offroading.
Given its size, engine specs & price, Jimny's failure is so simple to understand.

Jimny with a more powerful 1.5 liter diesel engine & with it falling under sub 4 meter tax bracket would have made more sense. And being an Indian market leader and given Indian tax laws, Maruti Suzuki should have been the 1st company to have 1.2 litre turbo petrol engine & 1.5 litre diesel engine. But till date it has none even though every other competitor has these options. It is just happy to sell Brezza by paying additional 18% tax. This shows how rotten it is from the inside.

[itsbaman]

The only car that I will buy if I ever want a proper off-roader is Jimny. It’s a no nonsense car for the buyers who need it. I am starting to see a lot of Jimnys in HP lately. Why? Because here people need it. Thar RWD is not required. Thar 4X4 is bulky for narrow roads. Yes, people still buy Thar for its looks, but people buy Jimny for its capabilities

[Sebring]

I agree. The Jimny I drive abroad is a different car. (Even the engine feels butter smooth. Is rattle free) Only guys who have used this car overseas can know the difference

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The USP of Jimny, which made it sell in huge numbers across many markets, is it's compact size and the practicality that comes with it, especially in off road conditions. Maruti's decision to dilute the very USP has brought about it's downfall, in terms of sales.

[Somil07]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The moment they took the call to add two extra doors and position it as a mass market family vehicle that can double up as an off roader, the fate was sealed.

I agree with most of the points except this one. Making it a 5-door was a practical decision in my view, it just adds ease of use and a bit of practicality. The biggest con I see with this car is the performance/mileage aspect. Now a days people don't really hate single digit mileage numbers if the car has exciting performance but Jimny doesn't offer either of the two. It's characteristics tilt it towards being a committed off-roader and the market is very thin for such a vehicle in India. And ofcourse, it doesn't score good on price-to-size metric as well so that's another thing. A peppier performance would have worked wonders for this car.

[Thyag]

These jimny related threads are good visual spectacles but finally it serves the purpose of sharing discounts, offers & finalizing the vehicle. Can't understand the logic of comparison between Thar & Jimny , on any given day will choose Jimny ahead of Bulky, Guzzling Thar !

Originally Posted by Thyag

Our people and their mindset is never going to change,

* When the car was not available in India and being exported only, they were whining like anything

* When the car is released in here - they all say various reasons like puny engine, pricing is not apt, etc;

Once in a blue moon maruti releases some good cars (Scross & Jimny) and people want the sales chart to be blazed by them. Altos, Wagonrs are not going to be substituted by Jimnys !

Disclaimer : I hate Maruti the most of all the brands, explanation will lead to unnecessary arguments anyway. Liked only Scross (specially 1.6 D ) from them in the past but jimny is interesting !

Originally Posted by Thyag

Simple (my)Logic, If some maruti vehicle is not blazing the sales chart means it is a damn good vehicle.

More than 90% of this type of vehicles are never going to leave the bitumen road and venture into muddly, slushy, offroad trails.

The requirement of everybody differs, for example If I am looking for a second vehicle, Jimny will be in top priority

* Good visibility all around so better half can drive without any leftside judgement issues

* Easy maneoverability in city, with an option of AT for stress free city & long rides

* Compact Size & Lighter Build as it is going to be mostly driven in city

* Good GC with above normal suspension (superior when compared to the competition) & ready to take on any terrain

* 5 Doors with enough room for family & things

* Fuzz free service & parts availability

* Being Practical, No unnecessary, confusing techs or things which we never use in the lifetime

Icing on the cake :- Globally praised product, Unlimited modification options & the tag of MG

Once in a while when some awesome or niche product oozes our of tightly packed product lineup of MS - people simply have Jalan !

The only problem of Jimny in India being "The Company" which is selling it here ! (some other company would have resulted in - better pricing, better engine options, etc)

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mahindra looked at the Thar's success and got overconfident.

Mahindra got overconfident or Maruti? I think you meant the latter

[CJ78]

Great article, in-depth analysis!
In my view, the only reason for Jimny sales not picking up in India is the road presence and perceived image of Maruti Suzuki cars.
People are more obsessed with cars that have strong road presence and need on-looker cars. Also, people do not associate Maruti cars to be abuse friendly or meant for off-roaders.

[Ashdel]

I am in the used car market waiting to hunt for a 3 door That Petrol AT 4x4.

There is a strong belief that post Thar 5 door deliveries - the 3 door prices will reduce drastically and i am actually waiting for the same.

Even though with the 3 L discount on Jimny going on and i know couple of my known have even managed more discounts - brand new Jimny could fit in my desire of a Petrol 4x4 AT- but hell NO - Jimny doesnt have a great engine and almost zero road presence - looks more like a toy car (no offence to current Jimny owners). Having said that - there is no doubt on the 4x4 capability - however a 4x4 has to have a solid road presence- in which Jimny fails hands down.

[romeomidhun]

Was in the market in 2023 December for an upgrade from my hatchback. Jimny was offered with 3L discount at that time. And I am very fond of the Gypsy and Jimny styling.

Checked the Jimny.

• Looked cute.
• I didn't need road presence.
• Drive very well on broken roads.
• Highway drive was OK in the 90 - 100 KMPH limit.
• Boot space was OK compared to my hatch.
• Power was OK.
• Price was OK after discount.

The problems?

Rear seat space for 2 people, and lack of bottle holders on doors.

Those were not at all OK for a person looking to upgrade from a hatch. Ended up buying a C-SUV.

Now, what is the situation?

• A first time buyer may not spend 15L for a Jimny.
• A second time buyer who upgrades from a hatch may not like it because of the space issue I mentioned above.
• A person looking for commanding road presence won't buy it.
• People looking for a second car for city use may not spend on the 4x4 cost and complexity. They'll buy a small automatic hatch.

That leaves with only 2 types of customers - hard core offroaders / people looking for a second car for occassional weekend offroading. There is no real competitors for Jimny in that case. And that is what Jimny is doing without discounts: 200 - 300 units per month. Almost same numbers as what Gypsy used to do in its last stages.

When a company like Mahindra spends a lot of money and effort to bring a 5-door Thar which is completely different from 3-Door (including chassis, suspension, body panels) and develops superb turbo Petrol engines, why couldn't Suzuki do that?

Maruti, if you are listening to the customers, please do the following:

• Widen the chassis to make the Jimny 1750mm - 1800mm wide and give enough space for 3 people at rear
• Bring the 1.4L BoosterJet Petrol engine which you offer in countries where you sell a mere 1000 units per month. Or develop a 1.2L Turbo engine.
• Small sunroof
• Pull type door handles
• Completely modern digital dashboard
• Storage space like bottle holders on doors
• Some common sense while initial pricing
• Offer a 1L cashback to the initial buyers who bought it at the exorbitant price
• If you want to sell each of your cars 10K units per month, price it accordingly. Where is your mass production advantages? There are companies whose total sale is less than 10K per month.

While keeping the following as same:

• Cute exterior styling
• Black interiors
• 4x4 capability

[Chetan_Rao]

A huge misconception is 'significant overlap' between potential Jimny & Thar buyers. There isn't.

Someone specifically wanting one is unlikely to seriously consider the other, because except the 4x4 equipment, there's nothing about the two cars that'd attract the same demographic, and it's already pretty much a given the 4x4 community is a numerical minority in this country. Thar 3 Door itself sells in 2WD guise more than the 4WD, and I'm inclined to think if Mahindra had offered the 3 Door 2WD at launch, the 4WD sales numbers would look very different. The 5 door variant isn't even getting a petrol 4WD option at launch, indicative of where the manufacturer thinks the volumes are.

A Jimny doesn't have the 'butch' that lifestyle buyers want, and the compact go-anywhere 4x4 demographic isn't very large. So there's nothing Maruti can do that'll make Jimny a volume seller. Price reductions might make people buy a car, it won't make them keep it when they realise it doesn't fit their use case. Case in point, plenty of 3 Door Thars went on the used market fairly quickly when people realised their butch car fantasies don't line up with their practical car needs.

Cross-shopping from the C-SUV demographic would see some conversions, but not significant volume. There just are more potential customers for daily driving, comfortable road-going cars than there are for rugged off-roaders, and that's never going to change.

[shortbread]

The widespread misconception and excitement about the so called global popularity of the Jimny have now proven to be overstated. While the Jimny certainly has its niche appeal and dedicated fan base, it hasn't achieved the status of a global bestseller, as Maruti attempted to convey in local media. Currently, it's not available in major automotive markets such as the US, China, Europe, UK etc, demonstrating that the hype surrounding it has dimmed. Designed as an affordable, cheerful SUV rather than a premium lifestyle vehicle, the Jimny would benefit from a strategic reintroduction of basic variants priced around 9-10 lakhs to tap into its potential more effectively. Wake up maruti!

[varunswnt]

IMO, Jimny needs a powertrain update to let it connect emotionally to people. Also, the perception created by social media and team-bhp (from ownership reports) on the unexciting nature of performance is not helping it either especially for those who consider it for cross country trips or city rides. I will reiterate myself, Mahindra has democratized performance in 15-25 lacs price bracket. Mahindra relies on this aspect to immediately let people connect with their car and build a good first impression.

Car buyers upgrading from 1.2L petrol engine won't feel much of an upgrade in performance. Car buyers trying to do lateral upgrade (from cars like City, Ertiga, Brezza, Creta) won't feel anything new in terms of performance from Jimny. Performance is what people will experience both on-road and off-road alike and Jimny severly lacks in it.

Suzuki being global company and that too in tie-up with Toyota, they will take their own sweet time to adjust their product strategy. To hold hopes of Suzuki trying to do a la Mahindra, that won't happen as Jimny is global car and not market specific model. Jimny will remain niche car and we should stop expecting it to go mass.

Jimny has its USPs but it needs a performance upgrade for sure. This car will perform exactly how it was even after taking it to serious off-road sessions and that is where lies its greatness which people won't be able to appreciate unless they own one and experience it over long term.

[autotranny]

Having driven 4 Speed TCs for over a decade, started with the 2009 Hyundai i10 and then the 2015 Verna, I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the Jimny when we did a short test drive. For those accustomed to driving AT cars, the Jimny is a decent performer. It's not as slow and uninspiring as people would have you believe. Rather, I was very happy driving it over rough roads and large potholes. It gave me the feels of driving a proper all terrain vehicle.

The fact that the other two cars I own are Seltos and Amaze, both in CVT guise, is evidence that I'm not always looking for outright performance in the cars.

The Verna, is due for replacement and I was considering the Jimny or i20 N Line as possible replacements.

However, my wife, who normally has no interest in the cars I drive or buy, absolutely hates the idea of buying a Jimny. Like lot of the sentiment shared above, she feels it looks like a toy car. She would rather have me buy a Thar for daily commute.

And having read this thread, I feel my experiences summarizes Maruti's challenges with the Jimny. A decent performing car, loved by enthusiasts, but absolutely hated by others. I don't see Jimny ever selling in big numbers.

So I hope Maruti focuses this brand for the niche customer, like how they do globally - bring out more special editions, retro grilles, large alloys, cosmetic add ons and make it an outright lifestyle vehicle.

[Chisels121]

I feel Jimny failed due to people's fantasy for big vehicles. I mean just look at NCR for instance ,the metro is unbelievably convenient and buses are atleast good for men yet any businessman who is making 50+ LPA is having 3 cars at home and all of them big-ass SUVs. Most under 30 men think that Thar or a 300cc+ bike are going to get them attention from the fairer sex but it only gets them attention of us enthusiasts.My cousins in the US say that anyone who is driving a lifted pick up or jeep to the office are looked down by younger generation as they look like wannabes . The day this theory seeps into India, just watch how cars like Jimny and Virtus GT are appreciated but it's is going to long time for that to happen.

[Vikram9193]

If people in India aren’t buying the Jimny despite the fact that its pricing and practicality is within reach of the sub-4 metre SUV segment, the only possible reason is that the look doesn’t appeal to Indians enough to make up for the small deficiencies in practicality.

In our year with it, we haven’t needed the few inches more of width or boot depth that a Brezza might offer. Fuel efficiency and everyday comfort haven’t been far behind either. Even the turning circle hasn’t been a serious bother, surprisingly. It’s almost a drop-in replacement for the most popular car segment in the country. I can honestly say I prefer driving it around town to the Hyryder, since I’m sitting higher, in a less wide vehicle, and the suspension is plusher.

The problem is desirability. And that’s about our tastes as a developing country. Nothing Suzuki can do here. Maybe add rear a/c vents and armrests, maybe a front camera and driver’s seat height adjust. Maybe lighten and sharpen the steering. Perhaps a sunroof or removable roof panels. But it still won’t pull the family that looks at it and goes, ugh, what is this khilauna gaadi, looks like a Maruti van, etc. That will only happen if it’s closer to 1800 mm width and height, with tyres to match.