Electric Suzuki Jimny confirmed

A compact off-roader with a strong following in Australia and beyond is set to benefit from significant upgrades in the near future.

An Australian favourite is going electric.

Suzuki has outlined plans for the future of its motoring arm that include five electric vehicles set to go on sale in Europe before 2030.

The Suzuki Jimny is incredibly capable off-road.

One of them is a battery-powered Jimny four-wheel-drive.

Details surrounding the model are scarce.

Teased as part of a presentation surrounding Suzuki’s plans in Europe, the electric Jimny is likely to have a fairly compact battery and electric motors – don’t expect it to be a 400kW monster with 1000 kilometres of range.

Many Jimny owners customise their rides. Picture: Twitter.

After all, the regular 1.5-litre Jimny makes do with just 75kW of power.

Suzuki has not discussed prices for the electric Jimny.

But you can be sure it will cost more than the current petrol version.

Then again, Jimny fans have surprised the car industry with their appetite for the model.

Suzuki Australia has closed order books for three-door automatic models, as the waiting list is too long for the brand to manage.

A Suzuki Jimny five-door is just around the corner.

And people are paying up to $50,000 on the second-hand market for models that cost just $23,990 new.

The electric Jimny isn’t the only news from Suzuki in January.

The manufacturer confirmed plans to introduce a five-door version of its baby four-wheel-drive for the Australian market this year.

Like the Jeep Wrangler and LandCruiser 70 Series, the Suzuki Jimny has a cult following. Photo: Thomas Wielecki

Suzuki’s compact machine has divided our critics like few other cars on sale.

It matched the best efforts of Jeep’s Wrangler and the Toyota LandCruiser during a gruelling off-road test.

Road tester Bill McKinnon was impressed by its capability away from the beaten track, but otherwise found the car represented a “primitive, unrefined, below-average drive, with highly questionable crashworthiness”.

Iain Curry is a Jimny fan.

Queensland-based reviewer Iain Curry was much more effusive.

“I’d forgive this car anything,” he said.

“Brilliant off-road, head-turning looks and smiles for miles. “No wonder there’s a long waiting list.”

Originally published as Electric Suzuki Jimny confirmed