New Australian imports of the Suzuki Jimny three-door could resume soon, with an upgraded model reportedly set to debut in Japan next month.
Safety upgrades required to continue importing the Suzuki Jimny three-door to Australia could debut in Japan next month, a new report claims.
Creative Trend reports order books for the 2026 Suzuki Jimny three-door will reportedly in Japan in August, with revisions to its active safety features to mirror the Jimny XL five-door, which is built in India, not Japan like the three-door.
While it is fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as standard, the current Suzuki Jimny three-door does not meet the performance requirements of new crash-avoidance regulations introduced in Australia in March, while the Jimny XL five-door is unaffected.
New imports of the three-door model are currently on hold while Suzuki Australia awaits the launch of the upgraded model, though it expects to have enough remaining stock to fulfil backorders.
The reported changes will include dual cameras for its AEB system and a 'pause' function for its traffic sign recognition, while four-speed automatic variants will gain low-speed AEB in reverse, a reverse false start prevention system, and adaptive cruise control.
According to the report, there will be no changes to the Jimny three-door's exterior or interior design, meaning it is likely to miss out on the XL five-door's larger 9-inch infotainment touchscreen – instead retaining its 7-inch unit, or basic radio in the Lite – and chrome grille surrounds.
Prices are likely to rise to accommodate the safety upgrades, with Creative Trend anticipating the largest increase will be applied to automatic variants in Japan.
Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota told Drive last month the return of the three-door Jimny is "not a matter of if, it's only a matter of when".
Year-to-date, 4365 examples of the Suzuki Jimny have been reported as sold in Australia – down 7 per cent from the same time last year.
The off-roader achieved a sales record in 2024, with 9697 deliveries recorded – almost twice as many as 2023 – making it the nation's second-best-selling 'light' SUV, behind the Mazda CX-3 (18,461).
Australian pricing for the current 2025 Suzuki Jimny starts from $34,990 drive-away for the Jimny Lite three-door manual, rising to $41,990 for the Jimny XL five-door automatic.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
