Suzuki plans SUV expansion

Suzuki has hinted an SUV coupe is on the list of 20 new vehicles it plans to roll out around the globe by 2020.

While unwilling to delve into details, the managing officer and executive general manager of the small car and SUV specialist, Kinji Saito, said it was looking outside its normal SUV and hatchback model lines into new niches.

“We don’t release our plans in advance but certainly we are very interested to continue SUVs and attractive compact hatchback and maybe we will make some [vehicles] in between,” he said in an exclusive interview with motoring.com.au at the Geneva motor show yesterday.

“So we always consider not only the typical SUV and typical hatchback, but also that kind of crossover and new kind of thing in a new segment,” he said.

Saito said that a new Suzuki SUV derivative such as a coupe could be based on the compact Vitara.

“Vitara-size? Yes,” he said.

“But I cannot say details.”

Saito agreed the global move to SUVs and crossovers was aiding Suzuki in its plan to add more models and grow sales.

“We are a unique manufacturer… sometimes there is a niche for that. That is our DNA and be please be looking for that [more SUVs].”

Suzuki has previously told motoring.com.au the evergreen Jimny is due for update before 2020, while the Grand Vitara badge should also return.

SUV coupes are normally associated with the other end of the SUV market with vehicles such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, although the move to a more rakish or lower rooflines is enough for some automotive marketers to acclaim their boxy SUVs as more dynamic.

Saito was speaking after presenting the third-generation Swift, which is the seventh of 20 new models the company plans to roll out between 2015 and 2020, when it celebrates its 100th anniversary.

“It will happen,” he promised of the 13 new vehicles still to come as part of the ‘Suzuki Next 100’ mid-term business plan, some of which will be Japanese domestic and some for global markets such as India, where it is the sales leader.

The Swift goes on-sale in Australia around mid-year. Saito said he supported the stated aims of Suzuki Australia to use the Swift as a key part of a growth to 30,000 sales per annum.

The Swift will bolster a young product line-up that includes the recently launched Ignis, Baleno, Vitara and recently updated S-Cross.

Saito supported Suzuki Australia’s ambition, but admitted the challenge was a hard one given Australian new car buying habits.

“We have a certain plan in Australia to develop our unique models,” he said. “It is on the way.’

“They will achieve our target but it is not easy because Australian people love the big-size car and love the big-size engine.

“We have to persuade them our option is better sometimes, rather than go to the huge-size engines,” Saito stated.