The Jimny EV is almost certainly going to be released in Europe. With Suzuki’s announcement of forthcoming EVs for Europe, a silhouette of the vehicle was visible. Also, the three-door Jimny makes sense in Europe to switch to electric vehicles. Remember that the Jimny is currently only offered as a commercial vehicle in Europe due to the high CO2 emissions of the petrol variant. Suzuki will therefore introduce the Jimny EV in Europe first. It will also be the three-door model. The five-door variant, which will be produced in India, will follow in its footsteps.
It won’t be simple to redesign the Jimny to only run on electricity. A body-on-frame SUV’s conversion to an electric vehicle presents numerous technical difficulties. First off, a dedicated ladder-frame chassis takes up a lot of space that a battery could have used instead. And making matters worse, the Jimny’s small size is to its detriment.
Maruti and Suzuki are likely to install the battery pack within the frame, a 60kWh battery similar to the one used on the eVX concept, or double-deck battery modules. This would affect the ground clearance of the long-wheelbase Jimny and the 210mm ground clearance would have to be further raised.
Suzuki will also want to install a motor at both axles, if it is keen to keep the off-road character of the Jimny intact. With two axles providing a higher level of regeneration, efficiency is unlikely to be affected much, and the five-door Jimny could gain additional practicality with a ‘frunk’ up front and some real luggage space.
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