VFACTS: Suzuki Jimny breaks monthly sales record

Suzuki Jimny sales hit a new high in August – which was enough to overtake its previous best annual result in the first eight months of this year.

The Suzuki Jimny has set a new monthly sales record – and has surpassed its best annual sales result with four months of the year remaining – amid unprecedented customer demand that continues to outstrip production.

VFACTS industry data published yesterday reported 674 Suzuki Jimny four-wheel-drives as sold last month – more than triple the 203 examples reported as sold by Suzuki in August last year. The most recent tally is also believed to represent a monthly record for the Suzuki Jimny.

The tally of 3630 Suzuki Jimnys sold in the first eight months of this year exceeds the 3350 cars sold in all of 2021, the previous record for an entire calendar year.

Suzuki Australia also sold more Jimny four-wheel-drives in the month of August 2022 than in the entirety of 2016, when the old model was in showrooms.

The small 4WD’s previous best month is believed to be June 2022, when 569 examples were reported as sold – a figure the August sales number beats by almost 20 per cent.

The latest Suzuki Jimny has been in high demand since it launched in early 2019 – and any increases in production out of Japan have been matched by even larger order books in Australia.

Wait times have sat at around five to seven months in recent times – after production was boosted in Japan, and a first-come, first-served ordering system was implemented last year, cutting wait times from 12 months.

“Supply has doubled for Australia, but demand has doubled as well. So we continue to do the best we can with support from Suzuki Japan, which has been very good to us,” Suzuki Australia boss Michael Pachota told Drive in May.

“We know our customers want to receive their cars as soon as possible We politely ask for our customers to be patient as the factory is doing everything it can to help reduce waiting times.”

The boost in Suzuki Jimny sales last month pushed the four-wheel-drive into third place in the ‘light SUV’ segment in August – behind the Kia Stonic (788 sales) and Toyota Yaris Cross (770), but just ahead of the Volkswagen T-Cross (670).

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