Suzuki Japan raises prices of Jimny 3-door; is PH affected?

Should we expect a more expensive 4x4?

As we all know, the Suzuki Jimny is now being offered in two flavors in the Philippine market. One is the recently launched 5-door version, while the other has the original 3-door setup.

Because of such high demand for the Jimny, the little 4x4 that could is being sourced out by Suzuki Philippines in two different countries – the 5-door is from the Maruti Suzuki factory in India, while the 3-door version is from Japan.

For a brief period, the 3-door version used to come from India as well. But since last year, Suzuki PH has reverted to sourcing out the 3-door made at the Kosai plant to save on costs. But speaking of which, the Suzuki Jimny 3-door in Japan is bound to get more expensive.

Based on the Suzuki Japan website, the brand is introducing a few specification changes which are made to comply with regulations. It applies to both the 660cc Jimny and the 1.5-liter version called the Jimny Sierra. Along with the changes made for regulatory purposes, Suzuki Japan says the increase is also due to rising raw material prices.

Across the whole Jimny model range in Japan, average price increases amounted to around just under JPY 100,000. This begs the question: Is the Japan-sourced 3-door Jimny bound for a price increase this year in the Philippine market?

Well, the short answer is not for the time being. According to a well-placed source, there’s no advisory yet with regard to the said price increases. This means customers can still have the Jimny 3-door at the current prices of PHP 1,258,000 for the GL MT, PHP 1,320,000 for GLX AT, and PHP 1,330,000 for the GLX AT Two-Tone.

But with production costs being the cause of the increase, time may not be on your side if you plan to buy the baby 4x4 at the current prices. In any case, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for updates regarding this matter.