Suzuki Forced To Ditch Most Of Its Aussie Lineup Over New Regulations

Suzuki is making some big changes to its Australian lineup, thanks to upcoming safety regulations that most of its current models don’t meet. While the new Swift and the five-door Jimny XL are safe from the cuts, nearly everything else is on the chopping block. Fortunately, Suzuki has a plan for some of its discontinued models in the Australian market.

The reason for the big shake-up is that the Suzuki Ignis, Swift Sport, Vitara, S-Cross, and the three-door Jimny are not compatible with the updated Australian Design Rules (ADR), which come into effect from March 1st, 2025 with specific requirements for the AEB (autonomous emergency braking) system. The Ignis is the only one not available with AEB as standard, while the rest of the pack have an older version of the system, rendering them all non-compliant.

More: Suzuki Suspends Jimny 5D Orders In Japan After 4-Day Demand Creates 3.5-Year Backlog

Speaking to local media CarExpert, Suzuki Australia managing director Michael Pachota said that these models had already reached the end of their lifecycles, so dropping them from the lineup was “always” part of their product planning. The official added that while the company has stopped accepting production orders for the aforementioned models, there is enough inventory to keep them available throughout 2025.

More importantly, the automaker is “investigating” a solution for the return of the three-door Jimny in the Australian market after the current inventory ends. While Suzuki didn’t get into specifics, the tiny off-roader could potentially adopt the newer dual-camera AEB system that’s already found in the five-door version. It remains to be seen if this will happen as part of a simple model year update or a more comprehensive facelift.

Setting aside the Jimny, Suzuki is expected to bring mildly updated hybrid versions of the Vitara and S-Cross SUVs in the Australian market. The automaker will announce more information on the third quarter of the year, but the facelifted Vitara is already available in Europe, giving Australians a good idea of what to expect.

More: Mitsubishi Kills Three SUVs In Australia, Including Pajero Sport

While the Ignis urban crossover and the Swift Sport hot hatch will most likely be discontinued without successors, the local Suzuki lineup will soon gain a new member – the Fronx SUV which is manufactured in India.

Besides Suzuki, the upcoming ADR regulations have affected numerous models from other automakers, including the Mitsubishi ASX, Eclipse Cross, and Pajero Sport, and the Mazda6 that have been axed from their respective lineups. All of them were close to the end of their lifecycles, meaning it wasn’t worth investing in a potential upgrade for the Australian market.