The Suzuki Jimny will stay on sale, for now

The engine in the Jimny is old. Very old, and as a result it doesn’t do particularly well when it comes to fuel consumption or, more importantly, emissions. The consequence of that was Suzuki could only sell so many per year for fear of ruining its CO2 average across the range, specifically 600 every six months in the UK.

A Suzuki statement released this morning said “Suzuki GB PLC would like to confirm that the model will remain on sale in the UK in very limited numbers throughout 2020” and Suzuki will “make every effort to ensure delivery to its customers who have already placed an order”.

At first glance that sounds great – the Jimny lives! But the phrase “who have already placed an order” makes us wonder if, once those orders have been fulfilled, the Jimny will be withdrawn, at least until Suzuki can come up with a solution that reduces either the Jimny’s CO2 stats (unlikely) or Suzuki’s CO2 performance across the whole range (more likely).

Suzuki’s statement goes on to say “imminent developments in the Suzuki range to lower CO2 emissions and further improve fuel consumption include the introduction of 48V Self-charging Hybrid technology fitted as standard equipment to Swift Sport, Vitara and S-Cross models”, adding credence to the latter idea. Whatever happens, we want the Jimny to live on forever. Make it happen, Suzuki.