Suzuki South Africa’s slowest-seller not being dropped soon

Suzuki Auto South Africa has confirmed that low-volume sales won’t lead to it withdrawing the Ignis from the local market anytime soon.

Launched locally eight years ago, the Ignis has struggled to crack sales of 30 units monthly, with a best so far of 24 in September.

In total, 198 examples have been sold between January and October, making it the lowest-selling Suzuki model after the XL6, which has also struggled to post three digit figures since launching locally two years ago.

Compared to the Ignis though, a total of 473 XL6’s have sold so far this year, with a best individual figure of 73 in February.

Still offering the same three trim levels it did back in 2017, GL and GLX, the Ignis uses the same normally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol engine as the previous generation Swift, which produces 61kW/113Nm.

Sending the amount of twist to the front axle falls to a five-speed manual or, as an option on the GLX, a five-speed automated manual (AMT).

Left untouched since its receiving a series of updates five years ago, the retro-styled Ignis remains what Suzuki calls an “active” part of its local line-up it will continue to offer for the time being.

In a statement about the Ignis’ future though, the marque told The Citizen that as with all models, “it is included in our regular product evaluations.

“Suzuki Auto South Africa remains attentive to market trends and developments, and any future direction will be shared”.

Currently in its second generation, which has been on-sale globally since 2016, the Ignis currently resides between the Swift and Baleno in Suzuki’s product range, with production coming via Maruti Suzuki’s Gurgaon plant in India.

Price

Along with its range having remained the same, the applies to the Ignis’ warranty, which consists of a five-year/200 000 km plan, plus a two-year/30 000 km service plan.