Wrangler

Make
Jeep
Segment
SUV

The Suzuki Jimny is one of the coolest vehicles not sold in the US. This small SUV would have been a great Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco fighter, especially for those on a budget. A new Jimny starts at less than €18,000, or around $21,100. A new Wrangler, by contrast, begins at nearly $29,000. In Indonesia, however, new Jimny demand is so high even used examples are now selling for as much as $37,500, according to Iwanbanaran.com. If that's not crazy enough, then get this: there's supposedly now a 20-year waitlist to buy a new one. What's going on in Indonesia?

The report did not provide specific details regarding the matter aside from the fact Suzuki's headquarters in Japan seriously underestimated Indonesian market demand.

The report mentions the possibility of building Jimnys in India where Suzuki also has a production facility in order to boost production numbers, but this has yet to be confirmed officially. Still, a 20-year waitlist sounds pretty far-fetched. Not so long ago, the report says there was already a 10-year wait.

A waitlist for any in-demand vehicle is not at all unusual, but typically the wait time is never more than a year for a series production vehicle. Even 12 months is pushing it as automakers could justifiably face annoyed customers. Whatever the situation truly is for Indonesia and elsewhere, Suzuki needs to ensure Jimny production can accommodate demand.

In Europe, however, the Jimny situation is very different. Jimny sales were banned in that market earlier this year following the introduction of harsher European C02 emissions regulations. Last month, Suzuki introduced a two-seat version homologated as a commercial vehicle, a segment with less stringent EU fleet average targets. Removing the rear seat and not doing much else was a brilliant move. But without the rear bench seat, the Jimny may not be quite as attractive for EU customers for understandable reasons.

Perhaps this situation will present an opportunity for Suzuki to redirect Jimny sales to markets where it's needed most.