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Suzuki, along with Indian
stablemate Maruti, is the best-selling car brand in this country.
A variety of factors have contributed to this success - (relative)
affordability, fuel economy, reliability, good resale values and easy
availability of spare parts. Suzuki has been leading the charts not only
here but also in Japan and many other countries.
 This
year has special significance for Suzuki as it is exactly a century
since the founder, Michio Suzuki, took his first steps in business as
a loom maker. Since his foray into cars, Suzuki has given the world many
iconic cars. Small cars are its forte, but it has occasionally dipped
its toes in the big car/truck sector as well. Suzuki's current crop of
cars - the Alto, SX4, Grand Vitara, Swift, though not extraordinary, are
good products in their respective categories. Suzuki has several
concepts that could take the world by storm if they make it to
production.
 This
is also a year of challenges for Suzuki: amid the economic crisis,
global sales in 2008 dropped one per cent to 2,361,000 units, and
sales in Europe alone declined by eight per cent to 315,000 units over
the same period.
As Suzuki enters its second century during these challenging times,
 the
automaker is listening to its customers more closely than ever and
creating products that reflect their needs and concerns.
The environmental impact of most Suzukis is minimal, being small-engined
cars. But the carmaker seeks to minimise this impact further. A large
part of Suzuki’s efforts for the future is centered on the environment.
The company believes that offering eco-friendly cars at the most
affordable prices is vital for reducing CO2 emissions and fuel
consumption. It is developing fuel cells and other next-generation power
units as well though these might take a few years for commercial
realisation.
 In
the meantime, Suzuki is focusing on ways to maximize the environmental
benefits of fully proven technologies - petrol and diesel. The
culmination of Suzuki’s recent environmental efforts is the all-new
Suzuki Alto (A Star in India), a city car. The Alto has been a
remarkable success through the decades and is one of the most popular
cars in Sri Lanka. Maruti plans an all-new Alto for India by 2011.
Suzuki has based the new Alto on a core concept of eco-friendliness
since the beginning of its development. To make it
environmentally-friendly without detracting from its styling, the
company began optimizing its aerodynamic performance in wind-tunnel
tests at the initial clay-modeling stage. The result is combined fuel
consumption of 64.2 mpg with low emissions.
 The
Suzuki Splash, which was launched last year, also reflects a focus on
eco-friendly and economical motoring. Thanks to a development approach
similar to the one adopted for the Suzuki Alto, it offers low CO2
emissions and fuel consumption as low as 62.8 mpg.
With a view to achieving lower CO2 emissions, Suzuki is pursuing new
environmental initiatives that include the development of engine auto
stop/start systems and the application of intake-and-exhaust variable
valve timing mechanisms to small vehicles. Through these initiatives,
the company aims to reduce emissions further. “Our goal is to achieve
greener motoring
with the least amount of additional equipment and at a minimal
increase in cost,” said a Suzuki spokesman.
- Pramod
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