Suzuki Motor Corporation (スズキ株式会社, Suzuki Kabushiki-Kaisha?) is a Japanese
multinational corporation headquartered in
Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of
motorcycles,
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs),
outboard marine engines,
wheelchairs and a variety of other small
internal combustion engines.
Suzuki is the 9th largest automobile manufacturer in the world by production volume,
[7] employs over 45,000 people, has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries.
[citation needed] According to statistics from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), Suzuki is Japan's second-largest manufacturer of small cars and trucks.
"Suzuki" is pronounced
[suzuki] in Japanese, with a high tone on the
[ki]. It is pronounced
/səˈzuːki/ sə-ZOO-kee in English, with a stressed
zu. This pronunciation is used by the Suzuki company in marketing campaigns directed towards English-speakers.
[edit] History
In 1909, Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of
Hamamatsu,
Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built
weaving looms for
Japan's giant
silk industry.
[8] In 1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. Suzuki filed as many as 120 patents and utility model rights.
[citation needed] The company's first 30 years focused on the development and production of these exceptionally complex machines.
[citation needed]
Despite the success of his
looms, Suzuki realized his company had to diversify and he began to look at other products. Based on
consumer demand, he decided that building a small car would be the most practical new venture. The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact
prototype cars. These first Suzuki motor vehicles were powered by a then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It featured a cast
aluminum crankcase and
gearbox and generated 13 horsepower (9.7 kW) from a displacement of less than 800
cc.
With the onset of World War II, production plans for Suzuki's new vehicles were halted when the government declared civilian passenger cars a "non-essential commodity." At the conclusion of the war, Suzuki went back to producing
looms.
Loom production was given a boost when the U.S. government approved the shipping of cotton to Japan. Suzuki's fortunes brightened as orders began to increase from domestic textile manufacturers. But the joy was short-lived as the cotton market collapsed in 1951.
Faced with this colossal challenge, Suzuki's thoughts went back to motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation. A number of firms began offering "clip-on" gas-powered engines that could be attached to the typical
bicycle. Suzuki's first two-wheel ingenuity came in the form of a motorized
bicycle called, the "Power Free." Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the
1952 Power Free featured a 36 cc, one horsepower,
two-stroke engine.
[9] An unprecedented feature was the double-sprocket gear system, enabling the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The system was so ingenious that the
patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial
subsidy to continue research in
motorcycle engineering, and so was born Suzuki Motor Corporation.
In 1953, Suzuki scored the first of many racing victories when the tiny 60 cc "Diamond Free" won its class in the
Mount Fuji Hill Climb.
[9]
By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Following the success of its first motorcycles, Suzuki created an even more successful automobile: the 1955
Suzuki Suzulight. Suzuki showcased its penchant for innovation from the beginning. The Suzulight included front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and
rack-and-pinion steering—features common on cars half a century later.
[edit] Historical timeline
- 1909 – Suzuki Loom Works founded in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, by Mr. Michio Suzuki.
- 1920 – Reorganized, incorporated, and capitalized at 500,000 yen as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. with Michio Suzuki as president.
- 1952 – 'Power Free' motorized bicycle marketed.[9]
- 1954 – Company name changed to Suzuki Motor Co.,Ltd.
- 1955 – Lightweight car Suzuki Suzulight (360 cc, 2-stroke) front wheel drive, marketed helping to usher in Japan's light-weight car age.
- 1961 – Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. established by separating the loom machine division from the motor works and lightweight truck 'Suzulight Carry' marketed.
- 1962 – Suzuki won the 50 cc class championship at the Isle of Man TT
- 1963 – U.S. Suzuki Motor Corp., a direct sales subsidiary, opened in Los Angeles.
- 1965 – 'D55'(5.5 hp, 2-stroke) outboard motor marketed and makes early inroads and Fronte 800 marketed.
- 1967 – Thai Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. established as a local assembly plant.
- 1968 – Carry full-cab van marketed.
- 1970 – LJ-Series (Jimny) 4X4 marketed.
- 1971 – Ts185 Enduro marketed.
- 1971 – GT750 motorcycle marketed.
- 1973 – Suzuki Canada Ltd., opened in Ontario, Canada.
- 1974 – P.T. Suzuki Indonesia Manufacturing established in Jakarta, Indonesia, entry into medical equipment field by marketing the Suzuki Motor Chair Z600 motorized wheelchair, expansion into the housing field initiated with Suzuki Home marketing two models of prefab 'Mini-House' and three types of storage sheds.
- 1975 – Antonio Suzuki Corp., a joint venture for knockdown production and sales, established in Manila, the Philippines.
- 1976 – GS-Series motorcycles marketed.
- 1977 – LJ80 4x4 vehicle marketed and exports of GS1000H motorcycle began.
- 1979 – Alto marketed.
- 1979 – SC100 marketed in the UK.
- 1980 – Suzuki Australia Pty. Ltd. established in Sydney, Australia and entry into general purpose engine field by marketing three electric power generator models.
- 1981 – Business ties with General Motors (U.S.) and Isuzu Motors, Ltd.(Japan) signed.
- 1982 – 4X4 production began at PAK Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. in Karachi, Pakistan and won maker championship for 7th consecutive year at the World Road Race Grand Prix 500.
- 1982 – SC100 Discontinued in favour of Alto.
- 1983 – Enters into a partnership with Maruti Udyog Ltd. to produce cars in India.
- 1983 – Cultus/Swift 1.0-liter passenger car marketed and 4X4 production started at Maruti Udyog Ltd. in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
- 1984 – Suzuki New Zealand Ltd. established in Wanganui, New Zealand and began export of Chevrolet Sprint to the United States. Car production technical assistance contract signed with China National Aerotechnology Import & Export Beijing Corporation. Operation of Suzuki Motor GmbH Deutschland began in Heppenheim, Germany.
- 1985 – SUZUKI of AMERICA AUTOMOTIVE CORP. established with the introduction of the Samurai, and the GSX-R750 motorcycle with an oil-cooled engine marketed and scooter production started at Avello S.A. of Spain. Agreement with Santana Motors to produce Suzuki cars in their Linares factory in Andalusia, Spain.
- 1986 – American Suzuki Motor Corp. is formed merging U.S. Suzuki Motor Corp and Suzuki of America Automotive Corp.
- 1987 – Cultus/Swift production began in Colombia and total aggregate car exports reached 2 million units.
- 1988 – Escudo/Vitara 4x4 marketed and total aggregate car production reached 10 million units..
- 1989 – CAMI Automotive Inc. established and began operation in Ontario, Canada. Swift GT/GLX and Sidekick sales begin in the United States.
- 1990 – Corporate name changed to Suzuki Motor Corporation.
- 1991 – Car production started in Korea through technical ties with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Heavy Machinery Ltd and Cappuccino 2-seater marketed.
The Suzuki plant in
Esztergom, Hungary has over 6000 employees. (As of 2007)
- 1993 – Passenger car production/sales began at Suzuki Egypt S.A.E., opening ceremony for new car production plant held at Magyar Suzuki Corp. in Esztergom, Hungary and Wagon R passenger car marketed.
- 1994 – Maruti Udyog Ltd. of India total aggregate car production reached 1 million units.
- 1995 – Total aggregate motorcycle export reached 20 million units
- 1996 – Start of production in Vietnam (Motorcycles and automobiles)
- 1997 – Achieved 10 million cumulative automobile sales for overseas market and 4-stroke outboard motors win the Innovation Award at The International Marine Trade Exhibit and Conference (IMTEC) in Chicago.
- 1998 – Suzuki and General Motors form strategic alliance and Chongqing Chang'an Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd. received official approval from the Chinese government for production of passenger cars.
- 1999 – Aggregate motorcycle production reaches 40 million units and Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd. receives official approval from the Chinese government for production of commercial vehicles.
- 2000 – The company commemorates the 80th anniversary, aggregate car production at Kosai Plant reaches 10 million units and Suzuki production starts at General Motors de Argentina S.A.
- 2001 – Aggregate Launch of Suzuki Liana/Aerio. worldwide sales of Jimny/SJ reaches 2 million units, production of Alto reaches 4 million units and Suzuki achieves "Zero-Level" target of landfill waste
- 2002 – Achieved 30 million cumulative automobile sales for worldwide market and America's #1 warranty: 100,000/7-year powertrain limited warranty.
- 2003 – Suzuki is #1 in Kei car sales for the 30th consecutive year and Twin, the first hybrid Kei car in Japan, marketed.
- 2004 – Aggregate domestic automobile sales reach 15 million units.
- 2005 – Swift was awarded the 2006 RJC Car of the Year.
- 2006 – New XL7 is marketed particularly to the North American market; and GM divested, selling 92.36 million shares and reducing their stake to 3%.
- 2008 – GM divested its remaining 3% stake in Suzuki.
- 2009 – Suzuki introduces its first production pickup truck called the Equator. Volkswagen AG and Suzuki reach a common understanding to establish a close long-term strategic partnership.[10]
- 2010 – Volkswagen AG completed the purchase of 19.9% of Suzuki's outstanding shares.[11]
[edit] Maruti Suzuki
Main article:
Maruti Suzuki 
Maruti Suzuki's
A-Star vehicle during its unveiling in
Pragati Maidan, Delhi.
A-Star, Suzuki's fifth global car model, was designed and is made only in India.
[12] Besides being Suzuki's largest subsidiary in terms of car sales, Maruti Suzuki is also Suzuki's leading research and development arm outside Japan
Based in
Gurgaon, India,
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is Suzuki's largest and most valuable subsidiary with an annual production of 1,018,365 units in the fiscal 2009-2010.
[13] Suzuki has a 54.2% stake in the Indian auto giant and the rest is owned by the various Indian public and financial institutions. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is listed on the
Bombay Stock Exchange and
National Stock Exchange of India.
[14] In 2005-2006, the company had a 54% market share of the passenger car market in India.
[15] Nearly 75,000 people are employed directly by Maruti and its partners.
Maruti Suzuki was born as a
Government of India company, with Suzuki as a minor partner, to make a lower priced car for middle class India. Over the years, the product range has widened, ownership has changed hands and the customer has evolved.
Maruti Suzuki offers 14 models, ranging from India's one-time best selling car,
Maruti 800, for less than
INR 200,000 (
US$ 5000) to the premium
sedan Maruti Suzuki SX4 and luxury SUV, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Maruti 800 was the first model launched by the company in 1983 followed by mini-
van Maruti Omni in 1984. Both models were huge success in their respective categories because of the use of high-end technology and good fuel efficiency.
Maruti Gypsy, launched in 1985, came into widespread use with the
Indian Army and
Indian Police Service becoming its primary customers. The short-lived
Maruti 1000 too achieved moderate success until it was replaced by
Maruti Esteem in 1994, to counter increasing competition in the medium-sedan category.
Maruti Zen, launched in 1993, was the company's second compact car model and also became extremely popular in India because of its high performance. The company went on to launch another compact car
Maruti Wagon-R followed by
Maruti Baleno in 1999. However, with increasing competition from
Tata,
Hyundai,
Honda and
Daewoo Motors, Maruti was not able to achieve the same success with Baleno as it had with its earlier models. So it replaced Maruti Suzuki Baleno with the Suzuki SX4. Currently Suzuki SX4 is facing stiff competition from the
Honda City.
In 2000,
Maruti Alto was launched. The launch of
Tata Indica and
Hyundai Santro had affected Maruti's sales but Alto helped secure the company's position as the auto leader in India. It is currently the largest selling car in India. The Maruti models include Maruti
Suzuki Grand Vitara, launched in 2003,
Maruti Versa, launched in 2004, Maruti
Suzuki Swift, launched in 2005,
Maruti Zen Estilo and Maruti
Suzuki SX4, launched in 2007. The Alto, Swift and SX4 are leaders in their respective segments in the Indian Market.
On 14 February, Maruti Suzuki India, a Suzuki subsidiary in India, announced that it achieved one million total accumulated production volume of the Alto. The Alto has reached the million units mark in just seven years and five months since its launch on September 2000. The last half of the million has come in a record 25 months. The Alto has been India's largest volume-selling car, every month, for the past 37 consecutive months. Its popularity has continued to grow since its launch, with customers attracted to its low price with fuel efficiency. With this the Alto became the third car in the Maruti Suzuki stable to cross the million units mark. Previously, the Maruti 800 and the Omni had exceeded the million units mark. Besides its success in India, over 152,000 Altos made at Maruti Suzuki were delivered internationally, enjoying good outcomes in Algeria and Chile.
Maruti Exports Limited is the subsidiary of Maruti Udyog Limited with its major focus on exports and it does not operate in the domestic Indian market. The first commercial consignment of 480 cars were sent to Hungary. By sending a consignment of 571 cars to the same country, Maruti crossed the benchmark of 3,000,000 cars. Since its inception export was one of the aspects the government has been keen to encourage. Every political party expected Maruti to earn foreign exchange. But compared to Hyundai Maruti Suzuki is poor on export front.
Other subsidiary companies of the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan in India are:
- SUZUKI POWERTRAIN INDIA LIMITED: Manufacturers engines for cars
- SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED: Manufactures two wheelers under brand name 'Suzuki'. Its two wheeler models launched in India are 'GS 150R, Intruder, Hayabusa 1300 cc, 125 cc Access, 125 cc Motorcycle Zeus.
[edit] American Suzuki Motor Corp. history
American Suzuki headquarters is located in
Brea,
California. Through an agreement with
General Motors, Suzuki began selling a version of their
Suzuki Cultus in the United States as the
Chevrolet Sprint in 1985. This model was initially sold as a 3-door
hatchback and would be
Chevrolet's smallest model.
The
Samurai was also introduced in 1985 for the 1986 model year and was the first car introduced to the United States by the newly created American Suzuki Corp. No other Japanese company sold more cars in the United States in its first year than Suzuki. The Samurai was available as a
convertible or
hardtop and the company slogan was
Never a Dull Moment. The Samurai was successful until
Consumer Reports alleged the Samurai of being susceptible to roll over in a 1988 test. This led to a much publicized
1996 lawsuit, not settled until 2004.
In 1989, American Suzuki introduced the
Swift which was the 2nd generation Suzuki Cultus. The Swift was available as a GTi and GLX hatchback with a 4-door sedan following in 1990. A new small SUV called the
Sidekick was also introduced in 1989. 1991 saw the introduction of the 4-door Suzuki Sidekick, the first 4-door mini-SUV in North America. The Swift and Sidekick were cousins to GM's
Geo Metro and
Geo Tracker and were mostly produced in
Ingersoll,
Ontario, Canada by Suzuki and GM's joint venture, CAMI. The Swift GT/GTi and 4-door models were imported from Japan. Negative evaluations from
Consumer Reports of the Suzuki Samurai led to some temporary setbacks at American Suzuki as annual sales in the following years dropped to below 20,000 units.
In 1995, American Suzuki introduced the
Esteem and redesigned the Swift. The Swift GT was dropped and this version Swift was specific only to North America where it was built at CAMI. These models were the first Suzuki vehicles to be marketed in North America with dual front
airbags. A
station wagon version of the Esteem was introduced in 1996. Worldwide Suzuki production reached more than 975,000 cars this year.
Also in 1996, American Suzuki released the 2-door SUV
X-90 and a revised
Sidekick Sport model with
dual airbags, a 120 hp (89 kW) 1.8 liter engine, 16 inch wheels and two-tone paint. The Sidekick was replaced by the
Vitara and the
Grand Vitara for 1999. The Grand Vitara would be Suzuki's first model with a V6-cylinder engine and available 4-wheel
ABS brakes.
The
Grand Vitara XL-7 was introduced in 2001 as a stretched version of the Grand Vitara. The Grand Vitara XL-7 had a larger 2.7 liter V6-cylinder engine and 3-row seating. This would be Suzuki's largest vehicle to date.
The Swift was dropped from the model lineup in 2001 and the
Esteem was replaced in 2002 by the new
Aerio, which was offered as a 4-door sedan and 5-door
crossover with
4-wheel-drive as an option.
In 2004, General Motors and Suzuki jointly purchased the bankrupt
Daewoo Motors renaming the venture GMDAT. American Suzuki rebadged the compact
Daewoo Nubira/
Daewoo Lacetti as the
Forenza and the mid-size
Daewoo Magnus as the
Verona. The
Forenza gained
station wagon and hatchback body style in 2005, with the hatchback sold under the
Reno name.
2006 was the first year American Suzuki sold more than 100,000 vehicles in the United States. Suzuki redesigned the Grand Vitara in 2006 as well as introduced the all-new
Suzuki SX4 and
Suzuki XL7 in 2007. The
Suzuki SX4 is produced as a joint venture with
Fiat and the XL7 (notice the shortening of the name from Grand Vitara XL-7) was produced as a joint venture with GM at CAMI Automotive Inc. in Ingersoll. Suzuki put XL7 production on indefinite hiatus in mid-2009 due to low demand and subsequently sold off its share of CAMI back to GM later that year.
Despite a difficult domestic US automarket, Suzuki has been keeping pace with its 2007 sales numbers including recording their best May ever in May 2008.
[16]
[edit] Pakistani Suzuki Motor Company Limited
Following the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement between Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan (SMC) and Pakistan Automobile Corporation (PACO),
Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) was incorporated as a public limited company in August 1983.
[17]
The new company assumed the assets, including production facilities ,of Awami Autos Limited. PSMCL started commercial operations in January 1984 with the primary objective of passenger cars, pick ups, vans and 4x4 vehicles.
The groundbreaking ceremony of the company’s green field automobile plant at Bin Qasim was performed by the then prime Minister of Pakistan in early 1989.
On completion of first phase of this plant in early 1990, in-house assembly Suzuki engines started. The new plant was completed in 1992, and Suzuki production was transferred to new plant — and
three-box 1,300 cc Margalla car was also added to its range of production.
In September 1992 the company was privatized and placed directly under the Japanese Management. At the time of privatization SMC increased its equity from 25% to 40% Subsequently, SMC progressively increased its equity to 73.09% by December 31, 2001.
The Bin Qasim Plant further expanded its production capacity to 50,000 vehicles per year in July 1994 and 300,000 vehicles had been manufactured at this plant by December 2003.
Paksuzuki currently exports its cars to countries like Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria & Maldives.
[edit] Suzuki Canada Inc. history
- 1973 – June 1, Suzuki Canada Ltd. was incorporated with offices at Downsview, Ontario. Product lines included motorcycles, parts and accessories to Suzuki dealers throughout Canada.
- 1974 – Vancouver branch office and warehouse inaugurated to service dealers in western Canada.
- 1980 – Autumn - Suzuki Canada began its automotive sales with the marketing and sales of four-wheel-LJ80 in eastern Canada. November 1, the name of company changed from Suzuki Canada Ltd. to Suzuki Canada Inc.
- 1982 – Introduction of a line of Suzuki all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in Canada.
- 1983 – Introduction of a line of Suzuki outboard motors in western Canada. February 1, 1983 - Western Branch moved to enlarged facilities in Richmond, British Columbia.
- 1984 – Began the sales of 'Suzuki Forsa' (Suzuki Cultus) automobile.
- 1986 – A $600 million Suzuki-GM joint venture CAMI Automotive Inc. announced for the manufacturing of vehicles. Production was set to begin in 1989 at Ingersoll, Ontario.
- 1987 – January 25 - Suzuki Canada Inc. moved to a new 110,000 sq ft (10,000 m2). head office and warehouse facility at Richmond Hill, Ontario.
- 1988 – Autumn - Suzuki began selling the CAMI-built 2-door Suzuki Sidekick.
- 2009 – Autumn - Suzuki sold its participation in CAMI to GM
[edit] OEM deals
Since 1985, Suzuki has shared or produced automobiles for other manufacturers around the world.
General Motors
- Chevrolet Sprint - United States/Canada (Suzuki Cultus)
- Pontiac Firefly - Canada (Suzuki Cultus)
- Geo Metro - United States (Suzuki Cultus)
- Holden Barina - Australia & New Zealand (Suzuki Cultus)
- Chevrolet Swift - South America (Suzuki Cultus)
- Chevrolet Cruze - Japan (Suzuki Ignis)
- Holden Cruze - Australia (Suzuki Ignis)
- Chevrolet MW - Japan (Suzuki Wagon R)
- Bedford Rascal - Europe (Suzuki Carry)
- Bedford Rascal - United Kingdom (Suzuki Carry)
- Holden Scurry - Australia (Suzuki Carry)
- Chevrolet Supercarry - South America (Suzuki Carry)
- Geo Tracker - United States (Sidekick/Vitara)
- Chevrolet Tracker - United States/Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
- GMC Tracker - Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
- Asüna Sunrunner - Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
- Pontiac Sunrunner - Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
- Chevrolet Vitara - South America (Sidekick/Vitara)
- Chevrolet Grand Nomad - South America (Suzuki XL7)
- Holden Drover - Australia & New Zealand (Suzuki Sierra/Jimny)
- Opel Agila - Europe (Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Splash)
- Chevrolet MW - Japan (Suzuki Wagon R)
- Vauxhall Agila - United Kingdom (Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Splash)
Fiat
- Fiat Sedici - Europe (Suzuki SX4)
Subaru
- Subaru Justy - Europe (Suzuki Swift)
Mazda
- Mazda Proceed Levante - Japan (Suzuki Vitara)
- Mazda Carol - Japan (Suzuki Alto)
- Autozam AZ-1 - Japan (Suzuki Cara)
- Autozam Scrum - Japan (Suzuki Every)
- Autozam AZ-Wagon - Japan (Suzuki MR Wagon)
- Mazda AZ-Offroad - Japan (Suzuki Jimny)
- Mazda Spiano - Japan (Suzuki Lapin)
- Mazda Laputa - Japan (Suzuki Kei)
Nissan
- Nissan Moco - Japan (Suzuki MR Wagon)
- Nissan Pino - Japan (Suzuki Alto)
- Nissan Roox - Japan (Suzuki Palette)
Maruti Suzuki
- Maruti 800 - India (Suzuki Alto)
- Maruti Omni - India (Suzuki Carry)
- Maruti Gypsy - India (Suzuki Jimny)
- Maruti 1000 - India (Suzuki Cultus)
- Maruti Zen - India (Suzuki Alto)
- All Maruti models since the Zen are referred to as Maruti Suzuki.
Volkswagen
- Volkswagen Rocktan (Suzuki SX4) - currently in development.
[edit] Automobiles
- Daewoo based North American models
[edit] Motorcycles
Suzuki started manufacturing motorcycles in 1952, the first models being motorized bicycles. During the 1950s, 1960s and the better part of the 1970s, the company manufactured motorcycles with
two-stroke engines only, the biggest two-stroke model being the water-cooled triple-cylinder
GT750.
A large factor in Suzuki's success in two-stroke competition was the
East German Grand Prix racer
Ernst Degner, who defected to the West in 1961,
[18] bringing with him expertise in two-stroke engines from the East German manufacturer
MZ. Suzuki hired Degner, and he won the
50 cc class F.I.M. road racing World Championship for them in the
1962 season. Suzuki became the first Japanese manufacturer to win a
motocross world championship when
Joel Robert won the 1970 250 cc title. In the 1970s, Suzuki established themselves in the motorcycle racing world with
Barry Sheene and
Roger De Coster winning world championships in the premier 500 cc division in
road racing and
motocross respectively. Suzuki continues to compete in
MotoGP and last won the title in the
2000 season. Since 2006, the team is sponsored by
Rizla and is known as
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team.
It was not until 1976 that Suzuki introduced its first motorcycle with a
four-stroke engine, the
GS400 and
GS750.
In 1994, Suzuki partnered with
Nanjing Jincheng Machinery to create a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer and exporter called
Jincheng Suzuki.
[edit] Models
Notable Suzuki motorcycles include some of the following:
- Hayabusa (GSX-1300R) – a sport motorcycle capable of 190 mph (310 km/h) in 1999, and limited to 186 mph (299 km/h) since 2000.
- GSX-R1000 – the largest model of the GSX-R series, first launched in 2000.
- GSX-R750 – the grandfather of the GSX-R1000, this designation is more than 25 years old and this model is being updated/redesigned entirely every two to four years.
- GSX-R600 – a smaller version of the GSX-R750.
- GSX-650F – introduced in 2008, this new sport touring model fills the void of the retired Katana. The 2009 model has ABS as a standard feature.
- SV650 – introduced in 1999 as a budget entry in the emerging naked bike market and, as of 2008, offered both naked and fully faired. Since 2009 it is also offered in the Gladius variant.
- Burgman – series of urban scooters with engine capacities from 125 cc up to 638 cc produced in Japan, Italy and Spain.
- RGV250 – the road-racing replica of Kevin Schwantz's RGV500 GP race bike
[edit] All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
Suzuki is a major sponsor of
luge,
biathlon, and
cross country skiing sporting events. They also the current title sponsor of
ASEAN Football Championship.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Google Finance, "Suzuki Motor Corporation", found at [1]
- ^ http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corp_info/financialinfo/pdf/2008/financial_summary.pdf
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Outline". Global Suzuki. http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corp_info/outline/index.html. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ (PDF) World Motor Vehicle Production by manufacturer. International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. 2008. http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/world-ranking-2008.pdf
- ^ "Cars are a sideline for Suzuki; sport-utes carry the load". Automotive News (5656): pp. S72(2). April 29, 1996
- ^ a b c Twist The Throttle: Suzuki
- ^ "Volkswagen and Suzuki agreed to establish a comprehensive partnership". Volkswagenag.com. 2009-12-09. http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/news/2009/12/Suzuki.html. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "Volkswagen completes Suzuki tieup". Japan Times. 2010-01-15. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100116a4.html. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ The Earthtimes (2008-01-09). "Suzuki's A-Star concept in global debut at Delhi auto show : Cars General". Earthtimes.org. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/171202.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Maruti Suzuki sales in 2009-10". Marutisuzuki.com. http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Maruti-Suzuki-sales-in-2009-10.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
- ^ [5][dead link]
- ^ [6][dead link]
- ^ "Even Suzuki Registers A May Sales Increase". http://thearticlewriter.com/autowriter/even-suzuki-registers-a-may-sales-increase/. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ "Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited :". Paksuzuki.com.pk. http://www.paksuzuki.com.pk/. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ Alpha State. "TEAM SUZUKI by Ray Battersby (2008) Parker House Publishing ISBN 0979689155 / 0-9796891-5-5". Teamsuzuki.co.uk. http://www.teamsuzuki.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
The 2011 model year sees the Triumph Thunderbird morph into a mean machine in the form of the Thunderbird Storm. Gone are most of the chrome trim, which are replaced with black. Most importantly, the Storm engine gets a 100cc boost in displacement over the T-Bird and is now 1700cc.
The open roads of Arizona are where a bike like the Storm is free to stretch its legs. Note the twin-headlight design, inspired directly from the iconic Speed Triple.
A parallel-Twin engine means the rider can sit closer to the front of the motorcycle. Revised bar risers on the Storm also alter bar position slightly from the Thunderbird. Overall, it proved to be a comfortable combination.
To achieve “Bad Boy” status, the Storm engine has gone all black, but also adopts the optional big-bore kit from the Thunderbird and makes it standard, upping the engine displacement 100cc to 1700cc.
Instrumentation is rather simplistic with the Storm, yet the two most important gauges are there: speedo and tach. 
The Storm is surprisingly well behaved in the tight stuff. Turn-in is relatively quick, and once leaned over it holds a line well. There’s even an impressive amount of lean angle available before hard parts touch down.
We don’t understand why cruisers tend to neglect stopping power. Thankfully Triumph decided to buck that trend with 310mm rotors front and rear.
When a bike has this much attitude, there’s only one way to send it off.
$33.46 billion (2008)
¥137.6 billion
