A runaway success in numerous markets since its world debut two years ago, the Suzuki Jimny is reportedly facing the axe in Europe over incoming new emissions requirements.
According to Autocar India, the Japanese marque has allegedly instructed its dealer network on the Old Continent to stop taking orders for the Jimny as it will fall foul of fresh CO2 emissions coming next year that will require an average maximum vehicle fleet of 95 g/km.
Despite offering mild-hybrid versions of the Baleno, Ignis, S-Cross (SX4) and Swift in order to obtain the imposed level, the publication reports that the Jimny’s 75 kW 1.5-litre petrol engine has not been optimised for a mild-hybrid configuration, and that is current outputs of 154 g/km for the five-speed manual model and 170 g/km for the four-speed automatic will make it difficult for Suzuki to bring its emissions below or close to the set mark.
The report states that the Jimny will however not depart from Europe entirely and instead return next year as a commercial vehicle that will be sold without any rear seats and with the mentioned petrol engine as a result of non-passenger vehicles not having to adhere to the 95 g/km cap.
Its discontinuing in Europe will also likely ease pressure on the Kosai factory in Japan that has been unable to keep-up with demand from various markets, including South Africa, where waiting periods and backlogs have often resulted in underwhelming monthly sales figures due to stock shortages.
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