HomeCar NewsJimny 5-Door Takes Japan by Storm – Bookings Stopped As Waiting Crosses...

Jimny 5-Door Takes Japan by Storm – Bookings Stopped As Waiting Crosses 3.5 Years

5-Door Jimny Unveiled In Japan - Supplied From India
5-Door Jimny Unveiled In Japan – Supplied From India

Manufactured exclusively in India, Maruti Jimny 5-door has received around 50,000 bookings in Japan within just four days of its launch

Suzuki Jimny 3-door has been a global bestseller, and the 5-door version appears to be following the same path. This is especially true in the Japanese market, where the response has been overwhelming. 5-door Jimny is also exported to other destinations such as Latin America, South Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Jimny Nomade 3.5-years wait time, bookings paused

In Japan, 5-door Jimny is on sale as Jimny Nomade. In just a few days, bookings have reached around 50,000 units. While this may not be a record-breaking figure, the limited supply has resulted in an extra-long waiting period. Jimny Nomade is manufactured only at Maruti’s Gurugram plant. And production allocation for the Japanese market is currently limited to 1,200 units per month. Assuming it remains the same, the waiting period for Jimny Nomade in Japan is around 41 months or 3.5 years.

Jimny Nomade
Suzuki Jimny

Due to the long waiting period, Suzuki has temporarily paused bookings for Jimny Nomade. There is currently no information about when the bookings will reopen. However, Suzuki had assured its customers that updates about bookings will be provided as and when necessary. Due to the overwhelming demand for Jimny Nomade, Suzuki has also cancelled promotion events of the SUV in Japan.

It is possible that production may be increased to cater to the increased demand for Jimny Nomade. Something similar has already been done by Mahindra that has successfully reduced the waiting period of its SUVs by increasing production. 5-door Jimny’s rival, Thar Roxx, had received much higher bookings of 1.76 lakh units in just one hour. In October last year, the waiting period of Roxx had touched up to 18 months at specific locations.

Jimny Nomade delivery timeline

In Japan, Jimny Nomade deliveries are scheduled to commence from 3rd April. It was earlier reported that the first shipments of Jimny Nomade have already been dispatched to Japan from India. These units may already be available at Suzuki dealerships in Japan. Prices start at 2,651,000 yen (Rs 14.88 lakh) for the 5-speed manual variant. The 4AT variant costs 2,750,000 yen, equal to Rs 15.43 lakh.

While Jimny 5-door is a grand success in Japan, it has been unable to deliver the desired results in India. Jimny 5-door is currently among the lowest selling Maruti cars, with contribution to overall sales at less than 1%. Could the sentiments in India change after 5-door Jimny’s record bookings in Japan? It’s hard to tell since consumer preferences here are in favour of more rugged-style SUVs such as Thar Roxx.

However, from a business perspective, 5-door Jimny seems to be at an advantageous position with its access to global markets. Maruti Suzuki has stepped up focus on exports and the results have been quite encouraging. Maruti Fronx is currently the most exported car from India, followed by Jimny. Other cars that Maruti exports include Dzire, Baleno, Swift, Ertiga, Celerio and Eeco.

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