Suzuki PH drops Indian-made Jimny; goes back to Japan import

Back in May 2021, AutoIndustriya.com reported that Suzuki Philippines has made the switch to sourcing Jimny vehicles from India via Maruti. According to a Suzuki representative, the decision to get the Jimny from India has long been planned as Maruti had a larger production capacity that will reduce the waiting time of Jimny customers.

Fast forward to 2023, and Suzuki Philippines has switched back to getting Jimny units from The Land of The Rising Sun. That’s right, the automaker is once again getting its popular 4x4 from Japan since January of this year.

According to a Suzuki executive who wished anonymity, the decision to go back to Japan-made units was due to costs. While Maruti has a bigger production capacity to build the Jimny for export markets, the executive mentioned that almost every component needed to produce the 4x4 has to be shipped all the way from Japan to India.

Rather than having to pay for high shipping costs to send the parts to India and then shipping the built 4x4 units to other markets like the Philippines, the company decided to save on expenditures. As for the waiting list, there is still quite a long line but it’s not as bad as before according to the executive.

But just how many Indian-made Jimnys remain in the country? According to our source, only less than 100 units of the Maruti-made Jimny remain at PH dealers.

With the first batch of Japan-made Jimnys on their way to the country, those who prefer their 4x4 made at the company’s Kosai plant will be glad to know of this development.