Suzuki pauses sales of three-door Jimny auto

SUZUKI Australia has paused the sale of automatic variants of its wildly popular three-door Jimmy model until further notice.

The pause was made effective 19 January 2023, with no end date given, but good news for prospective buyers is that manual models remain available.

Considering the youth appeal, and the fact less than two-thirds of motorists under the age of 30 have a manual licence, it might be a long wait for the compact retro-styled 4x4 – for which there is no direct competitor.

Suzuki Australia says the three-door manual Lite and GLX models are still on back order, but demand is not as overwhelming as the automatic model.

Two-tone colour schemes have also proven a hit, and Suzuki Australia says it is urging dealers to “review their colour preferences with their customers” to speed up delivery times.

A sales pause was inevitable, the car-maker says, as demand continues to grow for the top-spec automatic three-door Jimny.

“Jimny three-door automatic transmission back orders are through the roof and growing daily,” said Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota.

“As such, based on forecasts with production versus order bank, we had no choice but to put a pause on taking orders for this variant.”

Last year Suzuki shifted 5697 Jimny models in Australia compared with 3350 sales the year before, proving the retro budget 4x4 option – that will go just about anywhere off-road – is only growing in popularity.

The used market reflects this popularity, with second-hand three-door automatic models priced as high as $50,000 for relatively standard examples and buyers expecting little change from $45,000 for a solid used Jimny, which might prompt many to wait for the cease order to lift.

As the GWM Tank 300 bursts onto the scene, prospective buyers might opt for the more expensive Chinese model. The Tank 300 is priced from $55,990 drive-away, against the automatic three-door Jimny’s compelling $29,990 (before on-road costs) price tag.

Then there is also the option of the new five-door Jimny, set to arrive in Australia in the second half of 2023 and, while pricing is yet to be released, it is likely to be a fair bit cheaper than the GWM Tank 300.

If, by chance, prospective buyers do hold a manual licence and are open to the idea of a clutch, the paired-back budget Jimny Lite is priced from $26,990 before on-roads.

The sales pause on automatic Jimnys might prompt a few people to learn to use a third pedal.