Suzuki has four-sight

Japanese carmaker Suzuki is poised to release a wave of new models as it sets its sights on growth in Australia.

The small-car specialist is the third biggest selling brand in Japan behind Toyota and Honda and ahead of Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi -- but it is a relative minnow locally, with just 2 per cent market share. Sales of Suzuki cars in Australia have increased by 63 per cent over the past four years, but now the company has even more ambitious targets: to double its market share within four years, and become less reliant on sales of its popular Swift hatchback.

"With our limited model range we only compete in 45 per cent of the Australian car market," says Suzuki Australia general manager Tony Devers.

"So we are obviously really keen to expand our line-up and make sure we have a car that allows us to keep our customers in the Suzuki family, rather than move to another brand."

The 'Swift Car Company' has started the process by broadening its range of models (in 2006 the Swift accounted for 64 per cent of all Suzuki sales locally and last year the hatch represented 57 per cent) but there are more to come.

A heavily revised update is due for the SX4 small car-based softroader in early 2010, following by the Kizashi medium sized "Camry fighter" sedan mid-year (pictured in near-production form).

In 2011, an all-new Swift is due and in 2012 a bigger brother to the Grand Vitara 4WD should make it Down Under.

There are more new models beyond this horizon but, for now, Suzuki's not saying what they are.

In recent years Suzuki has tried to move its image away from cheap and cheerful cars to vehicles that are sporty and fun to drive or, in the case of 4WDs, rugged and reliable.

Advertising campaigns that have highlighted Suzuki's involvement in motorsport have helped bring equality to the types of Swift buyers the company now attracts.

Four years ago, Suzuki says, 75 per cent of Swift buyers were women; today the split is almost even.

Meanwhile, as it prepares its new-model onslaught, Suzuki HQ is well positioned to weather the global financial crisis. The company has posted a profit every year since it was formed 50 years ago. Although profit slipped 69 per cent year-on-year, the company posted a profit of $US350 million for the last financial year.

"At a time when many car makers are struggling to survive, Suzuki is in a very fortunate position," says Devers.

But Suzuki has also had to make cuts -- it has cut production, reduced spending, axed its motorsport campaign -- so it can redirect its resources to where they are needed most.

One of the keys to Suzuki's current state of health is that it is not heavily exposed in North America, the heart of the automotive financial crisis. Of Suzuki's total annual production of 2.4 million vehicles, it only sells 100,000 in the USA.

Furthermore, as a small car specialist, it happens to have cars -- and expertise -- that people want.

With this in mind Suzuki is a little nervous about the timing of its Kizashi medium-sized car, due in the first half of next year. Sales of medium-sized cars globally have nose-dived as buyers skip over the class and downsize to small or light cars. Even the latest versions of the mainstays of the class -- the Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro -- have struggled locally in the current climate.

When the Kizashi was given approval four years ago, the world was a different place. Petrol prices were cheaper and mid-size cars were still popular.

Kizashi is the largest car Suzuki has built and, as a result, it is a new from the ground-up design. A car is due to arrive in Australia next week for market research and to go through the government approval process.

Local Suzuki representatives are yet to drive the car but it is said to have been benchmarked on the highly-regarded Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro.

Initially the Kizashi will only be available with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine but a V6 and possibly an all-wheel drive version could follow a year or more later.

Meanwhile Suzuki is putting the finishing touches on the next generation Swift in Japan. As with the Alto released this week (more here  /news/2009/small-passenger/suzuki/alto/premium-juice-handicap-for-frugal-alto-15908), it is expected to come with a full list of safety equipment and is likely to become Suzuki's first five-star car for crash safety.

In the meantime, Suzuki will rely on limited edition models to keep interest in Swift bubbling along. A new sports version called RE4 adds $5000 worth of sports equipment (such as alloy wheels, sports seats and dash, a body kit and special decals) for a $1500 premium. And arriving at the end of July is a batch of 600 "safety pack" Swifts that will sit between the base model Swift and Swift S. The regular Swift (dual airbags, anti-lock brakes) is $16,790 plus on-road costs, the Swift with safety pack adds $700 to $17,490 (six airbags, anti-lock brakes), while the Swift S is $18,790 (six airbags, anti-lock brakes, alloy wheels, fog lights).
 
"We've noticed a strong increase in interest in side and curtain airbags, so we decided to do this special run of 600 cars as a bit of an experiment," says Devers.

"If customers like it and are prepared to pay the $700 extra for it, we'll consider making it part of the regular line up."

Sales of Suzuki cars so far in 2009 are down 17.5 per cent, slightly worse than the rest of the market, which is down 16.1 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with last year.

Suzuki: what's coming
End of July 2009: Swift RE4 sports limited edition; Swift with "safety pack".
Early 2010: Updated looks and engine for SX4 softroader hatch.
Mid 2010: Suzuki Kizashi, a four-cylinder mid-sized "Camry fighter".
Mid 2011: Suzuki Swift, all-new model.
Mid 2012: Suzuki Grand Vitara gets a bigger brother.

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