As the UK car market experiences it first growth since April 2008, Suzuki GB is pleased to announce that worldwide sales of Suzuki cars have recently passed 40 million units. This milestone was made up of 19,666,000 units sold in Japan and 20,334,000 sold worldwide.

This achievement is particularly important as 2009 also sees Suzuki celebrate its centenary. Suzuki began trading in October 1909 as the Suzuki Loom Company in Hamamatsu and extended into automobiles in October 1955 with the Suzulight mini-vehicle.

Since then, Suzuki has remained at the forefront of Japan’s expanding mini-vehicle market by reflecting customer’s priorities in models such as the Alto, Wagon R and SJ Jimny compact 4×4. Larger Suzuki vehicles joined the Japanese domestic market in 1965 with the popular Fronte, Cervo and Escudo which led to the development and global introduction of the highly successful Swift, SX4, Grand Vitara and Splash.

Suzuki has three production bases in Japan and launched its first production base further afield in Pakistan in 1975. Having continually expanded overseas production bases since then the company now builds automobiles at 15 plants in 14 other countries including Indonesia, Hungary and India – where Suzuki dominates the passenger car market with sales of more than 7.5 million cars.

Commenting on this latest milestone, David Seward, sales and Marketing Director, Suzuki GB commented; “Suzuki has a rich history in producing high quality, reliable cars. Looking to the future, Suzuki hopes to continue the success of this remarkable achievement and plans to concentrate on the further development of our vehicles; lowering emissions and providing cars that our customers will continue to enjoy driving.”

* Kizashi concept series culminates with world introduction of all-new Suzuki sport sedan.
* Chic Kizashi production model to deliver Japanese quality and European flair.
* North American Car of the Year contender to serve as halo vehicle for maturing Suzuki lineup.
* Kizashi’s exhilarating performance and driving experience reflect Suzuki’s exuberant brand spirit, backed by the confidence of America’s #1 Warranty.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) takes a bold step forward today. Known primarily as a maker of small vehicles and high-performance motorcycles, today marks the global debut of the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi (pronounced “Kee-Zah-Shee”), the company’s first entry into the all-wheel-drive sport sedan segment. Benchmarked against some of the leading cars in the world, the all-new 2010 Kizashi becomes an instant car-of-the-year contender in its own right. With the launch of the Kizashi, Suzuki delivers a unique blend of dynamic performance attributes with premium design aesthetics and craftsmanship yet to be experienced in this category. Scheduled to arrive in North American showrooms this winter, the Kizashi will serve as the company’s flagship vehicle, further expanding and strengthening its current product line of high-quality small cars, trucks and SUVs.

“In developing and naming our newest automotive introduction, the Japanese word ‘Kizashi,’ which tells that something great is coming, seemed appropriate for the vehicle,” said Kevin Saito, president, American Suzuki. “Now that the production model Kizashi has arrived, we expect the name and the product itself to clearly demonstrate the bold statement this company knew it would be making with the debut of this vehicle — while also simultaneously suggesting what will emerge in the Suzuki lineup as we look ahead to the future.”

The Kizashi sport sedan, which originates from the Concept Kizashi series introduced over the last two years, follows a similar design theme and appreciation for performance previously illustrated by the three eye-catching and immaculately designed concept vehicles. The production Kizashi redefines the traditional performance sedan and moves the Suzuki brand upscale. Furthermore, its active and energetic identity, a core component of the Suzuki brand DNA, is tempered by the vehicle’s overall mission to provide a strong, refined urban performance.
Powertrain

Built at Suzuki’s brand-new manufacturing facility in Sagara, Japan, the 2010 Kizashi is equipped with a standard 2.4-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder engine offering a more potent standard engine than many competitive best-sellers. The engine employs both an aluminum block and cylinder heads, providing a lightweight installation; aluminum pistons with low tensile force rings deliver improved power and efficiency. Dropped-forged connecting rods, rotating on a forged steel crankshaft, contribute to the inline four’s durability, and a balancer shaft delivers improved engine balance and reduced noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

The responsive inline four is connected to a six-speed manual transmission, for heightened performance in the low gears, along with relaxed — and economical — cruising capability in the higher gears. Customers may opt for an available Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that delivers both the driving experience and fuel efficiency today’s consumers demand, while not compromising the character preferred by driving enthusiasts. That character is enhanced with paddle shifters, optimizing driver control regardless of speed or driving environment. With either transmission choice, the Kizashi is engineered to return competitive fuel economy numbers for fuel-conscious consumers.

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Suzuki Motor Corp.’s WagonR minicar retained the top spot for the second straight month in Japan’s new car sales ranking for January, with 16,876 units, down 1.0 percent from a year earlier, data released by industry bodies showed Thursday.

Low-priced, fuel efficient minivehicles with engine displacements of up to 660 cc accounted for half of the top 10 spots, according to the data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association.

Daihatsu Motor Co.’s Move minicar came second, selling 15,786 units, up 14.4 percent, and Daihatsu’s Tanto minicar ranked third with sales of 11,027 units, down 6.4 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s hybrid model Prius joined the top 10 list, ranking 10th with sales of 5,730 units, up 9.2 percent.

Honda Motor Co.’s Fit subcompact, the best-selling subcompact in the month, ranked fourth with sales of 8,723 units, down 42.2 percent.

Sales of Toyota’s Passo subcompact, which ranked fifth, jumped 47.9 percent to 7,278 units due to the marketing of its Passo Sette minivan in December last year.

Among other minicars in the top 10 list, Honda’s Life ranked sixth with sales of 6,826 units, up 15.0 percent, and Suzuki’s Alto came ninth with sales of 6,082 units, up 10.7 percent.

Suzuki Motor Corp will shelve a plan to launch large-sized cars in 2010 and delay the start of overseas factories amid a sharp deterioration in the global auto market, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Suzuki and other automakers are under growing pressure to cut output and scrap capital investment plans as auto demand worldwide, including in India where Suzuki commands around half the market, declines sharply.

Suzuki had planned to introduce a big car based on “Kizashi” concept model that would have had an engine of up to 3.6 litres, in a bid to attract customers looking to upgrade from smaller vehicles.

In an interview with Reuters in September, Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki had flagged the likelihood for the project’s cancellation, saying it made little sense to launch a car into a shrinking segment of the market.

The Nikkei said the firm also plans to postpone plants in Thailand and Russia in 2010.

Suzuki officials were not immediately available for comment.

Shares of Suzuki rose 3.4 percent to 1,270 yen, underperforming a 4.3 percent gain in the Tokyo stock exchange’s transport equipment subindex.

source : reuters

Kizashi sedan will be launch September 2009 at japan

pictures source : Mag-x magazine

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , India’s leading car maker, expects to begin shipping its A-star small car to Nissan from February-March for sale in Europe, Maruti’s managing director said on Wednesday.

Shinzo Nakanishi, however, said Maruti was yet to agree on the exact volume of cars it would supply to Nissan.

Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp , hopes to boost sales in the next three months following price cuts, he added.

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Cash-strapped General Motors Corp. will sell its entire stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. for 22.37 billion yen ($230 million), the automaker’s latest move to stay afloat while awaiting a decision on government aid for the industry.

Suzuki said Monday it would buy back the 3.02 percent stake from the American auto giant, which is seeking a $25 billion government lifeline, together with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, to weather the deepening economic crisis.

While the sale is indicative of GM’s near-term liquidity challenges, the proceeds are not very meaningful, Buckingham Research Group analyst Joseph C. Amaturo said in a note to investors.

“GM is expected to burn $4 billion to $5 billion in (the fourth-quarter) or roughly $1.5 billion per month. Hence, the cash proceeds from the sale of its equity stake will not even cover one week of expected cash burn,” Amaturo said.

Hit by the worst sales slump in more than 25 years and frozen credit, GM has warned that it might not survive through year’s end without the U.S. government’s financial support.

Hardline Republican opponents of an auto industry bailout have branded the industry a “dinosaur” whose “day of reckoning” is near, while Democrats pledged Sunday to do their best to get Detroit a slice of the $700 billion originally earmarked for a Wall Street rescue.

Suzuki said GM’s stake sale was necessary for the ailing American automaker to raise capital, but the Japanese company insisted it would continue a business partnership with GM.

“We fully understand the necessity for GM to raise cash,” Suzuki chairman and chief executive Osamu Suzuki said in a statement. He said he was in close contact with GM chief executive Rick Wagoner, and the two companies would keep joint projects, including the development of hybrid vehicles and a joint venture for sports utility vehicles in Canada.

The GM-Suzuki partnership dates to 1981 but those ties loosened after GM sold a 17 percent stake in Suzuki in 2006, leaving it with 3 percent.

GM lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter and warned that it could run out of cash in 2009 if the U.S. economic slump continues and it doesn’t get government help.

The automaker plans to lay off about 3,600 workers beginning early next year as it slows production at 10 of its assembly plants.

source:AFP

NEW DELHI: Maruti seems to have come off age after more than two decades it was formed as a joint venture between Japan’s Suzuki Motor and the
Indian government. The company is set to develop an all-new model from scratch by 2011 using its Indian engineering strength.

IV Rao, managing executive officer (engineering) of Maruti Suzuki, told TOI that the company has been strengthening its engineering and design competencies as it plans to nearly double its engineering workforce by 2010 from 560. “We would like to close March next year with 740 engineers and reach 1000 by 2010,” Rao said.

And speaking about the future direction for the Indian R&D team, he said, “Going forward, we would be working on a model that is conceived, developed and designed at Maruti by its own engineering team.” Rao’s statement indicates the fast-growing stature of Maruti within Suzuki’s overall global plans and clearly brings out the future strategy of the Japanese carmaker.

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