The reports from Japan suggest that cars like the Suzuki Jimny and Honda Elevate have attained instant success there
The Maruti Suzuki Jimny and Honda Elevate have done a reasonable job on the Indian sales charts in the past couple of years. However, I don’t believe that either of these cars sold as many units as their respective companies had initially planned. There are many reasons for that. Nevertheless, what is particularly intriguing is the fact that these SUVs are exported from India to Japan. Now, the Japanese car buyers have instantly embraced both these SUVs. In fact, Suzuki had to close orders for Jimny after bagging 50,000 bookings within the first 4 days of launch. Let us decipher why this contrast exists.
Why Jimny and Elevate Succeeded in Japan But Failed in India?
This post stems from Biturbo Media on YouTube. The host expresses the reasons for this bizarre occurrence. Firstly, he informs us that the top 10 highest-selling cars in Japan are mostly MPVs, sedans and hatchbacks. That represents the general car-buying trend. Hence, compact cars are people’s choice. On the other hand, the Indian market prefers SUVs in all shapes and sizes. Particularly, the Jimny in India was pitted against the mighty Mahindra Thar. We know that Thar is a revered product among the Indian off-roading community. Secondly, since Jimny offers a hardcore 4×4 configuration as standard, the starting price is higher than the Thar.
This didn’t sit well with the potential customers. Finally, we know that Indians love their cars to boast an imposing road presence. On all these parameters, the Jimny struggle to generate sales. In fact, Maruti sold just 17,000 units of Jimny in FY2023-24 and 8,700 units in FY2024-25. In the last 4 months, this number has dropped to just 1,846. Clearly, the customers have made up their minds. On the other hand, because of the competition, the Honda Elevate has faced the same fate as the Jimny. While the sales have not been so low, it is still not what the Japanese carmaker would’ve hoped for. Nevertheless, it has been doing extremely well in Japan.
My View
Now, I must mention here that Jimny is not a terrible product at all. In fact, on the contrary, it is one of the capable lightweight off-roaders in the world. With a rich legacy spanning over 5 decades, the SUV has attained international success. Furthermore, its 5-door avatar was specifically designed for our market to accentuate its practicality. Still, for the aforementioned reasons, the appeal didn’t translate to sales. Similarly, the Elevate has been contributing to the Honda sales quite significantly, even though it might not be as popular as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos or Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Let us see how this trend evolves in the coming times.
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Also Read: Made-in-India Maruti Jimny 5-Door Has 3.5 Yrs Waiting Period in Japan
