[shibujp]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Jimny's bookings as of now:

Jimny has garnered over 31,000 bookings for the Jimny till now, it is now registering nearly 151 bookings per day for the SUV as against 92 prior to the announcement of the prices.

- Jimny is attracting first-time buyers ?... Not much



- Volume expectations



Link

No car manufacturer knows the Indian car buyer like Maruti and no manufacturer responds to customer feedback like Maruti either. The simple success formula for any car manufacturer in India is just to copy the basics that Maruti has built it's business on. The launch of a five door Jimny was a spot on strategy as the three door would have been a very niche product with no real volumes to speak of.

The Jimny is a well judged product. Well positioned and well priced. The company knows what it wants from the product. It is not a product that is going to satisfy a buyer who is looking to use it as a sole car unless for singles or couples. Typically such a buyer using it as a sole car will want more space and a lot of trips are made with some part of the extended family. And the Jimny is not exactly a product to go on highway trips loaded to the gills. And Maruti has no need to try to capture that market either having the Fronx, Baleno and the Grand Vitara to do the job there. That said, a lot of Thar owners I see around also have a primary car for their regular use.

One look on the gleeful mugs of the auto journos post driving the Jimny said all there was to be said. While the technical bits were said there was a hole here and a hole there, it was evident they all had fun. Which is what a car like the Jimny should be all about. It's a ride that most will by largely on emotion rather than on rationale. But the company also ensured that there is enough rationale in the product to make sense too. That is where to me the balance is brilliant. It is a Gypsy with all the Gypsy's bad traits ironed out. I hazard that before long turbo kits for the Jimny will be flying around launching another accessory and mod craze that the Swift did back in 2005.

On the other hand I am sorely disappointed in the accessory pack from Maruti. It a lot of cosmetic and inconsequential parts. Useful bits like cup holders, storage bins etc are sorely missed.

Drive on,
Shibu

[RDS]

Originally Posted by veedub89

Ok let me address this one by one.

The Jimny remains capable with or without 5 doors. The practicality added in by adding 5 doors is a myth. The size of the vehicle hasn't changed. Neither has the amount of space inside changed. By adding 2 more doors MS is playing the big car game. The Zen 3 door was the same car as the 5 door. But it flopped. Because Indians don't like the 3 door concept. They associate it with a small car.

May be for you it is a myth and that is ok. For me and many other prospective buyers I have talked to, 5 doors has made car more practical. It is personal and cannot be generalized - your viewpoint is not shared by many others in this forum as well.

Originally Posted by veedub89

The only reason Maruti has maintained its leadership spot in India is because it is cheap to buy and cheap to run. If Suzuki really was offering world class products then it would be a global leader and not a 2-bit player in some of the bigger car markets in the world. I am sure the leadership is smart, however even if they weren't, Maruti would still be a success in India due to its pricing.

And that is ok - I talked about India and Indian leadership in my comment. They are smart and understand the market like none other. Neither did I talk about international products, nor about the stature worldwide. I am not a Maruti fan but that does not mean I close my eyes to their success in India.

Because you called the decision maker who decided a more practical Jimny for India a "fool", someone had to help you remember the Indian PV market leader!!

Originally Posted by veedub89

The features that you talked about are expected in a new car these days. By giving 6 airbags and an ACC, Maruti is not doing a favour to us. Again, the size of the car is the same so there is no question of added practicality. You can get into the same small space in different ways now.

Maruti wants to position the Jimny as a niche product but you take away the niche by making it a 5 door. It feels less unique now. That's my only point here.

It is ok if it feels less niche to you, but for me and many others, it stays as Niche as the car is supposed to be, hence the premium pricing.

If you are ready to accept new features and term them as expected, I would similarly say that 5 doors is an expected feature in the Indian market otherwise, the product becomes too niche.
Jimny is not a Thar that many might buy just for road presence in cities - it needs function and practicality to sell. 5-door indeed is one of the major practical features because of which significant money was invested in Jimny 5-door by Suzuki. A company won't do that without due consideration and research.
And it is ok if you don't find 5-door practical or find that as a negative for niche category; it is just that the viewpoint cannot be generalized!

Not only Maruti, none of the car manufacturers are doing a favor to anyone. They are corporates that want to bring the product that can sell, hence the investment in practicality!!

Eventually, I agree to disagree - To each his own

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

And she is home

Congratulations dear Akshay!! Hoping to see your Jimny in the next car meet that I attend.

Is your Thar accompanying your Jimny in the garage?

Also, are you planning any design mods on this one? Or would prefer the clean, stock looks?

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by veedub89

Ok let me address this one by one.

The Jimny remains capable with or without 5 doors. The practicality added in by adding 5 doors is a myth. The size of the vehicle hasn't changed. Neither has the amount of space inside changed. By adding 2 more doors MS is playing the big car game. The Zen 3 door was the same car as the 5 door. But it flopped. Because Indians don't like the 3 door concept. They associate it with a small car.

The only reason Maruti has maintained its leadership spot in India is because it is cheap to buy and cheap to run. If Suzuki really was offering world class products then it would be a global leader and not a 2-bit player in some of the bigger car markets in the world. I am sure the leadership is smart, however even if they weren't, Maruti would still be a success in India due to its pricing.

The features that you talked about are expected in a new car these days. By giving 6 airbags and an ACC, Maruti is not doing a favour to us. Again, the size of the car is the same so there is no question of added practicality. You can get into the same small space in different ways now.

Maruti wants to position the Jimny as a niche product but you take away the niche by making it a 5 door. It feels less unique now. That's my only point here.

The size of the vehicle has changed during the transition from 3 door to 5 door, as has the boot area. 5 door has nothing to do with a big car or small car. It is associated with ease of ingress and egress and with notional value. Period.

Suzuki cars in India are not cheap. Browse through all their recent launches since the new Celerio and not one comment says that the cars are cheap to buy. Yes, they are frugal to run. Service cost is also not too different from other players. The only reason Suzuki maintained its leadership in India because of the enormous attention it pays to the market compared to the bigger players. Suzuki was lagging in technology but have now achieved then organically or via partnerships. They are able to sell cars because a large chunk of market likes what they offer. Suzuki folded its operations in USA because the market was unprofitable for them. So, did Ford and GM in India. Do we call them 2 bit players? It's just business!! Suzuki knows how to make money and they do that by even selling houses and wines in Japan!!

The features offered in Jimny does not make it niche. It is niche because of its off road capabilities. A 5 door version or 6 airbags are requirements of the market. There is no escaping that. In my personal opinion, that does not affect its "niche-ness".

[sunejarahul]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

And she is home

Congratulations!! I was under the impression you'd cancelled the booking. Saw one on the road day before and it does stand out especially in yellow & white. Waiting to hear more about the car. Is it the Alpha AT?

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Jimny's bookings as of now:

Jimny has garnered over 31,000 bookings for the Jimny till now, it is now registering nearly 151 bookings per day for the SUV as against 92 prior to the announcement of the prices.

I don't know what to believe; such a wrong presentation of facts by the leading manufacturer. And I was cribbing about that Nexa sales guy who said the wait list for Jimny is One & half years now So it all starts right from the top.

700 Indians are booking the Maruti Jimny every day: SUV crosses 16,500 bookings

https://www.cartoq.com/700-indians-a...every-day-suv/

Jimny gets-over-30k-bookings-launches in first week of June

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto...737974442.html

Maruti started booking in mid-Jan, and in 5 months or so, they had 30K bookings implying 6000 a month or 200 per day, which suddenly has decreased to 92 per day or less than half what they initially told.

And they are also mum on the cancellations; many members, including myself, have cancelled for one reason or another.

Let's see the numbers here and talk about this sometime during festival time.

[volkman10]

Deliveries of the Jimny and modifications in full swing:







And the Jimny in blue,




Link

[shankar.balan]

As mentioned before, the sales numbers at steady state will become evident in 6 to 12 months time. Right now all emotions are raw. Those who hate the Jimny hate it. Those who love it but hate the pricing will not buy. Those who don't care about the pricing will buy. Those who love the Jimny for what it is, will buy. Those who need the proportions and capabilities of the Jimny will buy.

I won’t talk any more about the strengths and weaknesses and all. Much has been said already. Many opinions have been proffered and lots of solid facts are also now available.

One thing; One may Love it or Hate it, but one simply cannot ignore it. This vehicle is an outlier in a sea of boring-ness and everyone wants something new and something that sets them apart.

Since the Urban Indian market is maturing rapidly and there is far more disposable income than before, there will be lots of Jimnys bought by those who want a piece of that outdoorsy lifestyle ‘look’ and then these will be parked in the cities, to be taken onto some light mud and gravel on weekends or heavily Accessorised and driven slowly around the city streets to get some eyeballs.
No matter. Its the buyer’s money. Who are we to judge what the buyer does with his/ her purchase?

End of the Day, as I said earlier, the sales numbers will tell the story. And ten years after the Kizashi, maybe the Jimny will find Maruti its much desired niche in the ‘premium priced segment’.

Let us not waste any more time comparing the Thar and the Jimny.

The little Jimny has its own place in this world. Its a plucky little nimble and agile and light terrier in a jungle occupied mainly by humongous ponderous and heavy ‘Gaurs’.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Deliveries of the Jimny and modifications in full swing

I remember seeing a detailed video from the owner of the white Jimny. Those bronze wheels from Enkei are priced at 1.5 lakhs for a set of four and the tyres costed him 10k a piece (in Delhi).

[vjbox]

While I am yet to see and try the Jimny in person, I do have thoughts on the ideal fit.

We recently visited a relative in mettupalayam who owns several acres of farm lands and the roads in and around Mettupalayam and those leading to his farms are pretty much non existent. Even within his farms, it's mud roads with shallow water streams passing through. While his Tucson ( previous gen) seemed to do just fine, I see a nimble offorader like Jimny fitting in perfectly for such run abouts.

I am sure the same would hold true for people living in remote areas/ outskirts where roads are questionable. So when it comes to one vehicle to do it all, without too many Gizmos, the Jimny again would work well. You pay the premium and opt for a hassle free ownership. The premium pricing is debatable and so are most cars in the market now. I know I over paid for the Kodiaq but as long as you are sure about the fit and needs, that debate is a moot.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Deliveries of the Jimny and modifications in full swing:

The bronze alloys look sweet.

While I like the stock alloys I was planning to get a better set. However I cannot decide whether to stick to 15 inch or go for 16 inch alloys. What are the pros and cons of 16 inch vs 15 inch wheels?

Drive on,
Shibu

[ubermensch]

I booked the Jimny back in April because I needed a second car, and a Jimny would scratch the itch. I had to cancel because I needed a car soon so I had to go ahead with the Verna SX(o), which still would satisfy the enthusiast in me with that engine. I still wish I could go ahead with the Jimny, for which I was quoted 6 months on top of the three months I’ve already waited.

My question for the people who have booked it and haven’t cancelled: what is the waiting period you’ve been quoted? I miss the good old days where you’d visit a dealership and they would shower you with offers and cars were readily available.

[TusharK]

Maruti Jimny waiting period gets longer; now at 8 months

Maruti Suzuki opened bookings for the Jimny 5-door in January this year. Since then, the carmaker has received over 31,000 orders and as a result, the waiting period now stretches up to 7-8 months.



The Maruti Jimny is available in two variants: Zeta and Alpha, with prices starting at Rs 12.74 lakh (ex-showroom). According to the company, most buyers are going for the Alpha MT variant.

Powering the Jimny is a 1.5-litre K-series engine which comes with Idle Start-Stop technology. The engine develops 103 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 134.2 Nm @ 4,000 rpm and is mated with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.

The Jimny is equipped with a 3-link rigid axle suspension and Suzuki's AllGrip Pro 4-wheel drive system with low-range transfer gear (4L mode). It also enables shifting from 2H two-wheel drive to 4H four-wheel drive on-the-fly.

Link to Team-BHP News

[aayusht]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Maruti Jimny waiting period gets longer; now at 8 months

Maruti Suzuki opened bookings for the Jimny 5-door in January this year. Since then, the carmaker has received over 31,000 orders and as a result, the waiting period now stretches up to 7-8 months.

This is testament to the fact that teambhp opinions are not reflective of the general public. We are an enthusiast community & the auto companies need to look at the wider population. A close friend who works at BMW India also called out that Teambhp's sentiments don't echo what they see as the actual demand/trend/customer responses.

I guess, Jimny is priced in the right ballpark.

[vellatechie]

Originally Posted by aayusht

I guess, Jimny is priced in the right ballpark.

I am not going to argue if the price is right, but this is just a PR exercise.

1. People excited about the car.
2. Car is launched at an inflated price.
3. Company announces longer waiting period
4. People on the fence think maybe they're wrong about the price and vfm.

If you check any car launched in the last 2 years, every car has a waiting period. Even the likes of Magnite. Waiting period means nothing if we don't know how much the company wants to manufacture each month.