New Suzuki Swift still six months away

Suzuki Australia has a model for almost every light-car buyer, following the launch of the Ignis in Melbourne yesterday.

But its most popular light car, the Swift, is set to pose a logistical problem for Suzuki and the local dealer network.

General Manager for Suzuki Australia, Andrew Moore, has told motoring.com.au that the all-new Swift will arrive here "around the middle of the year" after its global preview at the Geneva motor show in March.

But word from a local Suzuki dealer indicates the current model Swift will be fully run out of stock long before the new model arrives, which the dealer has said will go on sale officially from August of this year.

In 2015 the Swift sold nearly 11,000 units in Australia. Even though the light hatch's sales fortunes slumped to 8372 in 2016, the Swift remained Suzuki's most popular model in Australia, accounting for almost 43 per cent of the importer's car and SUV sales last year. It's a crucial component of the importer's sales and marketing strategy in Australia.

Losing the brightest star in the Suzuki product range – even temporarily – is a worrying prospect for dealers and sales staff, but Moore is "confident" the importer will enjoy a solid year of sales in 2017, on the way to reaching a future goal of 30,000 units a year.

Whenever one generation is replaced by another, there's an inevitable slow-down in sales, as stock runs low and buyers can't get hold of the particular specification desired. Then, there's a ramping-up effect as sales of the new model gradually build.

Suzuki has plenty of light-segment vehicles that can help fill the gap left by the Swift during those few months the old car is in run-out and the new model is yet to arrive.

"We'll be challenging Mazda for light segment private sales leadership in 2017," Moore said yesterday.

"I'm very confident that by the end of the year we'll have regained the number one position in the segment."

Despite the apparent disconnect between some of the light segment models in Suzuki's range, Moore clearly doesn't foresee a serious slump in sales this year due to lack of Swift stock.

"Over 30 per cent of Swift owners stay in the light segment for their next car, [and] choose another Suzuki," he explained.

"With Baleno and Ignis, the opportunity is present to retain even more satisfied customers to the Suzuki brand."

That logically follows: a single person might trade in the Swift for a family-oriented Baleno, reflecting a change of marital status. Or an empty-nester swaps the Swift for an Ignis, with its higher hip point.

In other words, Suzuki has options to divert repeat business into alternative products, or keep those sales on ice until the new Swift arrives. The situation is more challenging where new customers are concerned. And potentially the hardest of those sales to sustain and nurture will be buyers in the market for a car like the Swift Sport.

There are plenty of hot or warm-hatch options around, and buyers in that market sector tend not to stand around waiting with cash burning a hole in the pocket.