Furthermore, information from the Society of Indian Vehicle Producers (SIAM) means that gross sales of the globally well-liked off-roader SUV Jimny is struggling on the gross sales chart with a drop to as little as 1,100 items in November at its 478 Nexa dealerships PAN India.
The corporate claims that there have been some points with manufacturing availability for computerized transmission autos, which led to a scarcity of provide. On different hand, business consultants and analysts cite larger pricing, lack of positioning and a really area of interest marketplace for offroading within the Indian market as the first causes for the falling gross sales despite the heavy reductions supplied by the corporate.
Replicating international success in India?Maruti Suzuki Jimny, when launched in India, was a part of Maruti Suzuki’s technique to seize the utility automobile market which it was lagging together with the compact SUV Fronx and a premium MPV Invicto. Finally, within the first half of 2023-24, Maruti overtook Mahindra to change into the nation’s largest SUV maker. The corporate recorded 25.83% share within the first half of the continuing fiscal yr in comparison with 16.65% in the identical interval final fiscal.Globally, Suzuki has offered over 3.2 million items of the Jimny three door model in 199 nations and areas.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny is a globally glorified product with nations utilizing it for every thing from plowing snow in Regensburg, Germany, to getting used as a Kei automobile in Japan for tax and funding advantages. However for a rustic like India that’s presently obsessive about the concept of SUVs in each type and format, why isn’t the market head-over-heels in love with a real off-roader in a 4X4 mechanism that provides higher house and trip high quality than its rapid rivals?
The Jimny appears to be dwindling by way of relevance and gross sales numbers and it has much less to do with the product and extra with its notion.
In earlier interactions with media, Maruti Suzuki had highlighted that it isn’t actually eyeing volumes from Jimny in comparison with different merchandise within the portfolio. However it’s exhibiting the Indian prospects its off-roading functionality and its rub-off impact on different SUVs it sells.
On the sliding gross sales, Shashank Srivastava, Senior Government Officer, Advertising and marketing & Gross sales, Maruti Suzuki India, advised ETAuto, “The manufacturing for computerized transmission was solely 40% towards an total demand of fifty%-52%. In consequence, we produced handbook transmission Jimny in additional numbers than the precise market demand and that is mirrored within the larger inventory of handbook transmission of Jimny.
“We anticipate that this drawback of the restricted availability of computerized transmissions will proceed within the close to future as nicely. Due to this skew and availability of year-end stock on the dealership, there’s a low cost being supplied on the Jimny, relying on totally different geographies,” he added.
He additionally highlighted that demand is not a problem; the corporate has to this point recorded 43,000 bookings.
Worth parity or off-road shortage?
When it comes to pricing, “we now have seen some resistance from the patron in accepting the beginning worth level of the Jimny,” Srivastava mentioned.
“Based on our analysis, it’s barely larger than the expectation and if we go into particulars, we see that the consumers are additionally evaluating it with competing autos out there, which have a two-wheel drive model as nicely. Jimny has a four-wheel drive as commonplace which makes it costlier than the two-wheel drive model. Jimny is a five-door automobile and due to this fact it can’t be instantly in contrast with a two-wheel drive or a three-door automobile accessible within the competitors,” he mentioned.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny might be like Micheal Phelps in a kiddie pool. It packs a hearty all-terrain 4-wheel drive for a market that’s but to have an off-road tradition. India isn’t massive on modifications as nicely, additional diminishing the probabilities of ‘making it massive’, pun supposed. Regardless of being a 5-door SUV, the scale are fairly compact.
Variant-wise reductions accessible on Maruti Suzuki Jimny
(Official information and dealership sources)
Avik Chattopadhyay, founder, Expreal, mentioned, “The typical Indian SUV purchaser is shopping for the SUV not as a result of it’s an SUV in perform however as a result of it’s an SUV in type.” The usable width has elevated by mere 80 mm because the Gypsy in 1993. So the place is the highway presence India is all about?
“The present state of the Jimny is because of undifferentiated buyer segmentation and concentrating on. It’s a thoroughbred off- highway automobile and never a way of life automobile just like the Thar. Additionally, its utility might be skilled in institutional purposes, past people. The off-roading lovers have already purchased or booked the Jimny. MSIL now wants to focus on different area of interest segments and never observe the Thar. The state of affairs is just not past restore in any respect, however the harmful pattern of a reduced worth level is being set which one can’t simply retrace from,” Avik advised ETAuto.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny RWD not on the playing cards
The subsequent query lies if the Jimny will probably be supplied in a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) anytime quickly. If you happen to’d been pooling your cash to get one, Maruti Suzuki is just not planning to introduce any two- wheel mannequin drive to Jimny as there will probably be model dilution, Srivastava mentioned.
“This model is understood globally for off-roading capabilities and due to this fact, it can most likely dilute the model if we have been to introduce it, that’s the present considering. We are going to proceed to make efforts to streamline manufacturing in line with the underlying demand sample and with the introduction of the brand new accent kits, we count on that going ahead the gross sales for Jimny must be additional strengthened,” he added.
Jimmy additionally doesn’t have a diesel model which is most popular by some prospects. In reality, the class by which Jimny operates, i.e., Petrol variant in four-wheel drive, its market share is over 75% since its introduction, Srivastava mentioned.
Whereas shedding some gentle on the 4X4 tradition in India, Tutu Dhawan, the automotive restoration professional, mentioned, “90% of the consumers do not even perceive what you imply by 4X4. It is just particular. I might say no more than 5% to 10% of people that particularly desire a 4X4 and you find yourself paying a premium worth for one thing which you aren’t going to make use of.”
Vinay Piparsania, Former Director – Advertising and marketing and Gross sales, Ford India, believes that every model has its personal form of presence and superiority or consideration in that class. “So I believe that is the place Maruti Suzuki continues to be often known as extra of a useful automobile. Not essentially the most effective model in that class, proper? Additionally it is as a result of there is no such thing as a off-roading tradition in India and there’s no actual demand for it. However that is the explanation Thar got here into RWD model’s cheaper variant, as a result of in the end it was delivering solely the highway presence, not the 4X4 function.”
In Conclusion
Maruti Suzuki’s Jimny, touted as a worldwide off-roading sensation, finds itself at crossroads within the Indian market. Regardless of preliminary aspirations to seize the utility automobile market and safe the title of the nation’s largest SUV maker, the Jimny faces challenges that reach past manufacturing hiccups and low cost methods.
The Thunderstorm version’s discounted worth, now considerably extra inexpensive than rivals just like the Mahindra Thar, has sparked questions concerning the Indian shopper’s response. Gross sales information from November reveals a pointy decline, attributed partly to manufacturing limitations on computerized transmission autos, creating an imbalance in inventory.
Whereas Maruti Suzuki emphasizes that demand is not the problem, consultants argue that larger pricing, area of interest positioning, and a scarcity of off-roading tradition in India contribute to the mannequin’s battle. The Jimny’s five-door design, compact dimensions, and commonplace four-wheel-drive system differentiate it from rivals, doubtlessly impacting its perceived worth.
Within the broader context, the Jimny’s destiny in India is intertwined with the nation’s SUV-buying psyche. The typical Indian SUV purchaser, pushed by type relatively than perform, could also be hesitant to embrace a thoroughbred off-roader. The absence of a rear-wheel-drive choice and a diesel variant additional restrict its market attraction.