Maruti Jimny was showcased at the Auto Expo this year.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny has now been officially launched in India with the company unveiling its price on Wednesday. The five-door SUV directly competes with Mahindra Thar, another popular vehicle in the sports utility vehicle segment. The base model of Maruti Suzuki Jimny is priced at Rs 12.74 lakh and the top model goes up to Rs 15.05 lakh (ex-showroom). As soon as the price was announced, Twitter reactions started pouring in as the Jimny was one of the most-awaited launches of the year.
The company claims both the manual and automatic variants would deliver a fuel efficiency of around 16 km per litre.
But the pricing led to a barrage of comments on Twitter.
"Maruti Suzuki really overestimated how much people will pay for a niche vehicle with limited features, old engine and a 4 speed (yes, 4) gearbox," said Twitter user Akshay Sharma.
"Ridiculous pricing. Maruti should also have the guts to publish the total number of cancellations of the booking on Jimny 5 Door," tweeted CarGhost, an independent car reviewer.
"Mahindra Thar thanks Maruti for a highly priced JIMNY. Just to name it a competition, the competition died actually," said another user.
Some users appreciated the announcement from Maruti Suzuki India. "Jimny automatic at an on-road price of around Rs 15 lakh is quite a coup by Maruti," tweeted an auto enthusiast.
The Jimny, which is being projected as a modern day Gypsy, is a four-seater four-wheel drive SUV, which is why it is being compared to the Thar.
The offering from Mahindra, which comes with a bigger engine and a six-speed gear box, is priced Rs 16.10 lakh (ex-showroom), according to the latest price mentioned on the company website.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has invested around Rs 960 crore in developing the Jimny. According to the company, more than 30,000 bookings of the car has been made since it was showcased in the Auto Expo this year.
Suzuki has sold more than 3.2 million units of the Jimny worldwide, in 199 countries and regions. Globally, the automaker sells the model with three-door configuration. It is for the first time a five-door version has been launched.