[pqr]

2024: Maruti has a very high Jimny inventory level at the plant (average: 5,500+ units)



Jimny’s Indian journey has been straightforward so far. Maruti launched Jimny with a lot of fanfare and excitement among the masses, and product sales simply dropped immediately after launch as Maruti failed to deliver the right value to its target customers with steep pricing. Soon, it was followed by huge discounts to clear stock at the dealer level before 2023-end. Since then, sales have been in a slow lane.

But suddenly in July, Maruti announced a huge discount scheme of ₹ 3 lakhs, and wholesale was quite high at 2,429 units. The question now is: why such a sudden move?



Maruti has been exporting a small volume of Jimny 3-door RHD from India since 2021. The average export was slightly above 1,500 units a month. Around October 2022, Maruti actually stopped production of the 3-door Jimny in India as the plant was undergoing re-tooling for a new line of 5-door Jimny, slated to go on sale in mid-2023, first in India, then for exports. For nearly a year, exports came to a complete halt, besides the shipment of residual stock.

In October 2023, Maruti again started bulk shipment of Jimny RHD to several markets across the globe. This time, export volume was on the higher side, close to 4,000 units a month in 2024.



Domestic and export sales data combined show that exports have made up for the losses in the domestic market, and Suzuki is perfectly fine with the low sales of Jimny in India. But then, this is only one side of the story.



Because the capacity of the plant is to make 9,000 Jimny in a month. In fact, by September 2023, Maruti had ramped up production to over 6,000 units before a sales disaster struck the Indian unit. Eventually, Maruti had to ramp down production of Jimny in 2024.



By September 2023, plant-level inventory shot up to over 5,000 units and went past 6,000 units until exports eased it out to 4,000 units by February 2024. But then, by March 2024, exports had dipped to the 3,500 range, leading to an alarming plant-level stock of 7,600 units in May 2024.



In June 2024, Maruti dropped production of Jimny and seems to have asked the Indian unit to clear off plant stock. But at current prices, potential buyers won’t buy Jimny, so came the discount scheme over ₹ 3 lakhs to bring transaction price to the customer's perceived level, leading to higher wholesale along with steep targets for dealers to sell cars at a discount.



Such a large plant inventory holding also comes with financial consequences, which are quantified above considering the base Zeta MT variant cost (ex-showroom price minus GST, dealer margin, and profit margin).



This value reflects under current asset side of the balance sheet as finished goods inventory and directly impacts working capital.

Winter is coming



Entry of 5-door Mahindra Thar Roxx, with its very aggressive pricing, could be the final nail in Jimny India’s journey.



Though there seems to be a lot of variant gaps in the Thar Roxx petrol lineup, which has been announced so far. But Mahindra can easily fill this up and add the right rung to this price ladder, as they are doing with the Scorpio N and XUV 700.



The introductory price of the Thar Roxx MX3 6AT RWD variant is pretty close to Jimny’s top-end Alpha 4AT 4x4 variant, without discounts. Here Mahindra is offering a different value proposition altogether: a proper family-oriented, spacious SUV with very limited off-roading capability but with tons of fun on tarmac with such a powerful drivetrain and creature comfort features. And not to forget the street presence of Thar Roxx vs. little Jimny!

Mahindra has shown deeper customer segment understanding here by offering Indians ‘wow product’ and disrupting the whole market segment.



But Mahindra also has another ace up its sleeve, i.e., fuel-efficient yet refined and fun to drive, diverse diesel drivetrain choices on offer. In fact, Mahindra’s ladder-frame chassis products leans heavily toward a higher diesel mix (over 90%). This is where Jimny has no chance whatsoever.

It is quite sad to see what stubborn Maruti did with the most anticipated launch of 2023, where many were heavily invested. Random discount schemes are generating more customers with buyers remorse and adding professional challenges to dealers and their staffs to clear off inventory.

Unfortunately, Jimny now joins the list of complete failures from Maruti’s stable: Baleno Altura (station wagon), Versa (MUV), Old Grand Vitara (crossover), and Kizashi (sedan).

[Samba]

Will I buy a Jimny today, especially after the release of the Roxx?

Yes.

Reasons-

Roxx is not available in the petrol 4wd version.

I love the Jimny for its size. I am at more peace maneuvering a small vehicle on our congested city roads or narrow hills roads rather than showing off the road presence of a bulky vehicle.

I will avoid the diesel Roxx as I do not want the Bs6 tantrums.

If I need to buy a 5/7 seater 2wd SUV with loads of features, I will buy cars like the Taigun/Kushaq, Xuv7oo, or even the ScorpioN. Why will I compromise on the ride quality or the highway fun when I am buying a 2WD car?

So what is the only car am left with in this budget? The Jimny!

I used to see the Thar as a pure true blue off-roader from the day it was launched more than a decade back. The new gen Thar came in 2020 and it was like fresh air. In the affordable range, buyers in India got an off-roader that can be comfortable to drive and fast too. Thar was the first vehicle in India to change the concept that Jeeps are barebone and basic.

But now the Roxx has taken it to a whole different level! White interiors, panoramic sunroof, and a plethora of features are its highlights.
The day RWD Thar was released, it was for the mass market.

I am the kind of guy who still prefers the old gen Thar Crde over the Roxx! But that's me, that's not the Indian market.
The only Thar I am ready to pick even today is the Thar 3-door Petrol 4x4.

For me, every car is built for a purpose & that should not be diluted. It's either black or white. So my thought process goes like this-

Sedans with high GC make no sense!
Jeeps with a 2WD make no sense!

But both the above are practical choices for the mass market.

It is sad, if I look for ten Thar Roxx reviews hardly one or two reviews will highlight its off-road prowess. This is a vehicle where 9 out of 10 reviews should highlight its offroad prowess! But 9 out of 10 reviews will highlight its features, power figures, and looks which the people are looking for!

When the Jimny was launched, almost 10 out of 10 reviews highlighted its off-road capability rather than its on-road capability. That worked against the car! How many people need an off-roader with no road presence or fancy features? That was meant for the niche segment, but MSIL targeted the mass market without the ingredients the mass market wants & that too with atrocious pricing!

There is a huge difference between what I want and what the mass market wants-

What does the mass market want?

Looks
Road presence/size
Power
Safety
Features

Which car provides all the above?

Hence The Thar Roxx & the Jimny Suxx!

Regarding Maruti, the less I speak about how they goofed things up, the better!

Earlier I have written a bit on this-

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5798275 (Maruti Jimny’s S-Cross moment | Sales tanking, 2-lakh rupee discounts official)

[swami69]

Great statistics, you have sure taken a lot of time to compile this. I am one who has booked a Jimny in August at a total discount of 3L at Chennai awaiting delivery next week. This current pricing to me made me book.

I knew Roxx was coming, still I did not want that for various reasons, main one being, I already have my Carens which is a perfect long distance family car. I just wanted the Jimny as my second car and went for it.

Now, While people say, final nail in the coffin etc, for the Jimny, at the same time I don’t know what Suzuki is thinking, I feel Jimny can still survive at this 15L OTR range for the top end. Because the Roxx even with a 2WD petrol AT base version is expected to cost 19L at Chennai (made a rough costing), but for 4L less I get a cute global car with 4x4 hardware.

I was casually chatting with the NEXA dealer and prompting that Maruti may give more discounts on Jimny that what I got - but his reply was - sir, may not be, because of the pricing of Thar for 2WD, it will probably assist Jimny in better sales - similar to my explanation above.

This could happen or not, I don’t mind having a Jimny which suits my needs perfectly and even if they pull the plug, it is OK

[DevendraG]

Keep money out of the equation for a moment, I was disappointed in Jimny from day 1. The proportions just didn’t strike a chord with my heart. I’m a city heavy user and 4*4 isn’t at the top of my priority list.

Thar ROXX has pushed me very hard to consider a purchase even though my EcoSport is still running strong. Few cars achieve that with car owners.

Maruti had a headstart with Thar right in front of them. Their design/marketing team just didn’t catch the customers heart beat. It happens to biggest of car makers.

Sorry Jimny, Thar ROXX!

[xway]

I wonder if even Maruti does this level of analysis, if they did they would not have priced Jimny at that level.

Yes, its a 4x4 off roader and may not need features, space etc., and it very well serves people who do not need all this and happy with single purpose of offroading.

Just Focus on financial and cost calculation its under 4 meters (taxed less), small size, basic cost cut interiors, small space, limited features, just about average build quality, the price should have been starting below 9 lacs easily. Just because its 4x4 there is no reason to charge such huge premium for that. I am sure they must have kept big margins on it compared to their other products.

Even with discounts people like me are not able to see the value proposition.

[pandabear]

A more fun engine with a six speed AT was all that was needed for the Jimny.

Apart from the stupid cost cutting like missing the seat belt load sensor on the rear seats. Screams cheapness when they expect you to spend 20L and listen to seat belt chimes.

[sharmanova]

Man, seriously, Maruti should’ve hired you as a market analyst before launching the Jimny!

I guess Mahindra felt pity on Jimny, so that's why they haven't offered Petrol 4WD in Thar Roxx

[NutHead1270]

Great effort! It's difficult to put all this together and make such a great case study.
The discounts really did workout for jimny for some extent, We Indians love discounts ( So did my dad, hence the pfp). Jimny wouldn't be a burden for MSI if they launched only few units for India. Or if they had added little bit of features like rear AC vents and Arm rest.
We bought the Jimny knowing it will be discontinued soon and will be on the list of long gone MS cars we all admire. We believe Resale value will shoot up just after they discontinue.
I am really happy to see high exports number, People in UK still buy Jimny even after launching the commercial version with just 4 wheels and a body. That tells how much jimny is admired.
I came across a news few months back that Jimmy and Swift sport will be discontinued soon and Suzuki will focus more on electric, if that's true then why did they manufacture so many of them?

[GTO]

Thanks for the beautiful analysis, PQR. Every thread of yours has fresh knowledge & pearls of wisdom for the rest of us.

Once the production is set up & vendor commitments are made, cutting production is very, very difficult. This is especially so when the product is a brand-new launch. If a big passenger jet is cruising at 800 - 900 kmph, it takes time to slow down; the pilot cannot apply the brakes instantly. Continuous fight between the production & marketing departments at car manufacturers, and then the poor dealerships on whom the OEM keeps stuffing undesired inventory.

I hope Maruti has learned its lesson, gets off its high horse with overpriced enthusiast products (Jimny, S-Cross 1.6L, Baleno RS which cost 1.5 lakh over regular 1.2L NA motor). All these great products failed because of overpricing. I seriously cannot understand the pricing logic behind the Jimny. Maruti looked at the Thar's success and got overconfident.

Surprisingly, Mahindra has a thing or two to teach the original master of the market. Launch the car at a tempting price and then slowly increase it based on demand (XUV500, Scorpio-N, EcoSport). Hell, I remember the EcoSport went through 5-6 price hikes in the first year itself! If you price the car well and the demand is strong, you can increase the price in small increments, multiple times. But an overpriced product at launch never, ever recovers. When Mahindra saw demand catching up with supply on the XUV700, they officially slashed the XUV700 price by 2-lakhs; Maruti, on the other hand, still relies on big discounts.

Sharing a related post of mine from another thread:

Originally Posted by GTO

Outstanding thread, RavenAvi. Many thanks for sharing. I had also thought of creating a new thread on getting the pricing right at launch, but you beat me to it . Here's a related thread though - link.

A good launch is critical and overpriced flops rarely ever recover. We have a long list of overpriced cars that flopped at debut, went through massive price corrections, but never managed to stay afloat.

People forget to include the Logan in this list. Fact is, the Logan was grossly overpriced at the time of launch. It was a lakh more than the Indigo and had cost-cutting written all over it.

The Baleno in the late nineties. Pricing it on par with the City & Lancer killed the car entirely. Massive price cuts later, volumes improved a bit, although it was still a flop. The lower price only helped Maruti get rid of all the Baleno parts it had accumulated.

The Tata Aria - great MPV, but killer (pun intended) pricing.

The previous-gen Jazz - great hatchback, same story. The Jazz had a unique case where its pricing was suicidal, but it increased the sales of a competitor - the i20 . The i20 became 'THE i20" only after the Jazz' pricing debacle.

The Fiesta. Nice sedan that Ford thought will be positioned on par with the City. Problem for Ford was, Honda slashed the prices of the City a fortnight before the Fiesta's launch. You'd think that Ford would revisit the pricing....they never did. DUMB. R-I-P.

Skoda Yeti - too overpriced for such a small SUV. Dead on arrival.

In the wake of competition, Daewoo slashed the price of the Cielo by 2 lakhs overnight. Ironically, that price cut murdered it. It was seen as a 'cheap' car with zero aspirational value after the price was reduced. Tomorrow, if Levis starts selling jeans for 400 bucks, its sales might actually reduce.

[Fuldagap]

Jimny is an enthusiast's car. Maruti for sure knows that. The analysis above is sure top notch.
Whether we call Jimny sales a failure or not means anything when it comes from Maruti. But we seldom hear about it from Maruti execs.

Jimnys are also known to be highly customisable. People plonk a variety of engines, let alone other mods and they still perform flawlessly, even better than stock.

There used to be alot of Gypsies with Toyota engines 1800-2200 cc, sometimes diesels. Also a lot of 1600 cc Suzuki Baleno engines in the Gypsy.

Even today a lot of Jimnys are swapped with fantastic engines all around the world.

Sales is one factor that an enthusiast doesn't seem to look at much. Sour grapes? Not so much. Atleast India got the 4th gen Jimny that too a 5 door. Already missed the 3rd gen for so many years.

I'm always baffled when people make it about Thar vs Jimny. It makes no sense at all on any count.

[Ph03nix]

I see Maruti going down the same road as the Nokia's and Intels. Success gone to their head, the mileage card will only work for so long.

Look at Punch beating them at their stronghold. They never had success with any premium models.

They need to wake up and smell the coffee, give India safe and well built cars, it gives 18kmpl instead of 20 is probably fine.

The Jimmy can have a much broader appeal if it were priced right, given the size and feature set. If they only want to sell <500 units a month to "enthusiasts", so be it.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

Jimny is an enthusiast's car. Maruti for sure knows that. The analysis above is sure top notch.
Whether we call Jimny sales a failure or not means anything when it comes from Maruti. But we seldom hear about it from Maruti execs.
.

Well, We are in the internet age, you can see the interviews from 1 year ago how confident Maruti execs were about the prospect of Jimny. It was clearly made for the masses , that is why they added two more doors. It's conceived as a city friendly off-road vehicle for the family that can take on the flooded roads in Mumbai. Also they wanted to do 1L sales faster than Thar - Not my words but their own bosses said those things.

At this point all they can do is pressurize dealers to take up stock from the plant and somehow sell it. Say you sell 10 Jimnys a month and I'll give you more GV/Fronx etc.

[Mystic]

1. Automobile companies like Mahindra or Maruti are not doing a favour to us. They are doing business for profit.

2. The modern trend or craze for SUVs or Jeep look alikes are being targeted by automakers. They cater to the demand. They will put a sticker 4X4 or 4X4X4 or 6X6 if that will make the customers happy with no hardware related to the sticker. OEM have fat tyres which actually work against you in off road but they don’t care as it keeps customers happy.

3. We all know on how Jeans was invented as a tough garment for workers and it has become a trend and fashion now. Nobody ever does the work that is intended with a jeans pant with rivets but show its toughness to the public superficially.

4. I used to be in awe 6 decades back in my childhood at how my father used his Govt petrol Willys Jeep to travel in reserved forests to survey and lay roads with survey equipment carried in the trailer attached to the jeep. This is the true usage of the Jeep. This has become a fashionable or a cool thing to the present world. Some even carry empty jerry cans to show off to the world in the cities and travel on the 6 lane highways.

5. I think the enthusiasts need to standup and not be carried away by whatever stuff is forced upon us by the commercial automakers. We need to evaluate the stuff we need like, we really need a Jeep 4X4 or a pickup truck or a family city vehicle?

[androdev]

As a potential buyer, do you prefer unsold inventory with dealers or six months waiting list?

As an existing owner, don’t you prefer your car to be a rare sight on the road?

Unless you are a shareholder, employee, dealer or vendor of Maruti, the current situation should be a cause for celebration. Give me a single reason why a customer should be concerned.

[Animesh]

I am hoping (too optimistic???) that one or both things happen
1. Maruti gives us the 3 door version. The 3 door looks so much better than the 5 door one because it looks better proportioned. Jimny is a toy and making it practical ruins it to some extent. Yes, it will not sets charts on fire, then it isn't doing it in any case. And Maruti wouldn't incur any additional costs to sell this since manufacturing capacity is already there.
2. A new version with a 1.5 or a 1.6 litre engine. And suddenly one has a car that can be used on highways without the complain of it being a drag on straight roads.