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New mandates for crash-avoidance technology have slammed the brakes on Suzuki Jimny three-door production for Australia – at least for the time being.
The three-door Suzuki Jimny 4WD has hit the pause button for Australia as it does not yet meet new rules for crash-avoidance safety technology.
Suzuki Australia says it is working to fix the problem, and that it has enough stock to continue delivering the Jimny three-door for the time being.
It is yet to confirm when the three-door will make a full return – the five-door Jimny XL is not affected – but Drive understands it could be as soon as later this year, if it is engineered with the required technology.
The popular 4WD has fallen foul of ADR 98/00, a new mandate for autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology intended to slam the brakes if an imminent rear-end collision with a car ahead is detected.
Although the three-door Jimny is equipped with AEB, it appears its system does not meet the specific operating parameters outlined in the rules, which came into effect for all new vehicles of its type from March 1, 2025.
The Jimny XL already meets the March 2025 rules, as it's understood to be equipped with a more advanced AEB system – and went on sale after March 1, 2023, when all newly-introduced vehicles were required to meet the standards.
Suzuki Australia boss Michael Pachota said in a written statement to Drive the brand has "inventory to continue sales in 2025."
"Jimny XL is unaffected, Jimny 3-Door currently does not meet the newly introduced ADR requirements, however investigations in overcoming this are already at play and our position on this product are yet to be confirmed - sales at this stage will continue in 2025.
"Further information will be available when possible."
Suzuki Australia is yet to confirm when the three-door Jimny – made in Japan, rather than India like the XL – will be upgraded with improved AEB tech, but the company is hoping it will occur later this year.
Also on the chopping block is Suzuki's own Ignis city hatch, which does not have AEB at all, alongside the current S-Cross, Vitara and Swift Sport, which offer AEB but do not meet the Australian requirements.
Updated Vitara and S-Cross models are due late this year with AEB technology that complies with the new rules, while plans for a next-generation Swift Sport based on the latest Swift are unclear.
If the three-door Jimny is not upgraded, it would leave a large hole in Suzuki's sales in Australia.
Nearly 10,000 examples of the pint-sized 4WD were reported as sold last year, across three- and five-door bodies – accounting for nearly half of Suzuki's total 21,278 new-vehicle deliveries.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
