Suzuki
Suzuki Motor Corporation (スズキ株式会社, Suzuki Kabushiki gaisha? ), is a Japanese multinational public company engaged in the manufacture of automobiles (especially SUVs and compacts), motorcycles, outboard motors, and a variety of products equipped with internal combustion engines. It was founded in 1909 in the town of Minami-ku (Hamamatsu), Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, by Michio Suzuki.
Suzuki is an independent manufacturer, although for a few years it had close ties to General Motors and Volkswagen, without being controlled by another manufacturer.
History
The company was founded in 1909 under the name Suzuki Loom Works, initially dedicated to the manufacture of looms. In 1952 Suzuki began to manufacture a model of bicycle equipped with a 2x36cc engine. The following year it introduced a second bicycle model. In 1954 the company name was changed to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd and it built the “Colleda”, its first complete motorcycle. It was a 90 cm³ (5.5 cu in) single-cylinder machine.
In October 1955, Suzuki introduced its first mass-produced car: the Suzuki Suzulight, with a 360 cm³ (22 cu in) two-stroke inline two-cylinder engine, which was very well received in Japan. In 1961 it introduced the Suzulight Carry, which was the first of many vans for the brand.
The first Suzuki car to enter regular production was the 1961 Suzulite, a small four-seater carrying the designation 360 TL. It had a 360 cm³ (22 cu in) transverse front-mounted inline-twin engine. It was front-wheel drive and a three-speed manual transmission. Rated at 21 PS (15.4 kW) SAE at 4500 rpm, it could hit 85 km/h (53 mph).
In the 1970s, the Fronte and Jimny models made it possible to increase exports. In 1981, Suzuki reached an agreement with General Motors to meet the growing demand for small cars. With the help of "Isuzu", the "Sprint" of Chevrolet ("Suzuki Cultus" in Japan), is introduced in the United States, which begins the series of alliances it makes with other automotive manufacturers. In 1985 the model "Samurai" it is the first car in the United States launched under the Suzuki brand. Likewise, since 1987 Suzuki exports some of its models to the United States under the Geo brand created by GM to compete with foreign brands. In 1998 Chevrolet absorbs Geo, passing its models to be sold under the Chevrolet brand.
In 2002, global sales of the brand reached 30 million units.
In 2016, Suzuki was the world's largest manufacturer of subcompact cars. For the second year in a row, it was the number one brand for small cars. In September 2017, the brand's global sales managed to exceed 2.6 million units sold, since it entered automobile manufacturing in 1955. Suzuki's production figure stood at 3.05 million units in 2019, an 11.1 % less than the previous year. The brand assembled 946,768 units in Japan and its production in the rest of the world was 2.1 million units.
Motorbikes
Suzuki began manufacturing motorcycles in 1952, with the first models being motorized bicycles. From 1955 to 1976 the company manufactured motorcycles with two-stroke engines only, the largest two-stroke model being the three-cylinder Suzuki GT 750 -G2F5 water cooled.
A major factor in Suzuki's success in two-stroke competition was East German Grand Prix racer Ernst Degner, who defected to the West in 1961, bringing with him his experience in two-stroke engines from the East German manufacturer MZ. The secrets that Degner brought with him were three crucial technologies: the boost port, the combustion chamber, and the rotary valve. MZ's Walter Kaaden was the first engineer to combine these three crucial technologies.
Suzuki hired Degner and he won the International Motorcycling Federation 50 cm³ (3.1 cu in) class 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 250 cm³ (15.3 cu in) title in 1970. In the 1970s, Suzuki established itself in the motorcycling world with Barry Sheene Marco Lucchinelli 1981 Franco Uncini 1982 winning world championships in the premier class of 500 cm³ (30.5 cu in).
In 1976, Suzuki introduced its first motorcycles since the 1950s Colleda COX with four-stroke engines, the GS400 and GS750.
In 1994, Suzuki partnered with Nanjing Jincheng Machinery to create a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer and exporter called "Jincheng Suzuki".
Suzuki continued to compete in MotoGP and last won the title in the 2000 season. From 2006 to 2011, the team was sponsored by Rizla and was known as the "Rizla Suzuki". On November 18, 2011, Suzuki announced the suspension of GP racing, partly due to natural disasters and the recession, until 2014. Suzuki returned to MotoGP in 2015.
The following years in MotoGP were rather experimental for Suzuki, with some occasional successes; but in 2020, on Suzuki's centenary, Spanish rider Joan Mir surprised the world by clinching the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, Suzuki's first GP win since Kenny Roberts Jr won the World Championship in 2000.
In addition, Suzuki has recorded a total of 94 victories in the Isle of Man TT races. Suzuki has also finished runner-up in various race categories on 100 occasions and a total of 92 third-place finishes.
Manufacturing
Suzuki's largest vehicle production continues to focus on Japan and India, with the Maruti Udyog.
In 2020, the entry into force of the European Union (EU) emission regulations meant the end of the commercialization of the Suzuki Jimny in the Member States, due to its high CO2 emissions, which could affect the average of its entire range of models, which would force you to pay a fine.
Autonomous Vehicles
In 2019 Suzuki and the Japanese manufacturer Toyota, established an alliance in order to develop a long-term partnership to promote collaboration in the field of autonomous vehicles. In March, the two Japanese companies announced that they would begin joint product development, through production collaboration, as well as promoting mutual supply.
Brands and models
In the Andean countries of South America, Suzuki assembled under the Chevrolet emblem in Venezuela the Swift (1.5L and 1.6L), the SuperCarry, Esteem, and the Grand Vitara, short, medium and XL7, it also assembled vehicles in Ecuador and manufactured and sold as Chevrolet through GM Colmotores (Colombia) Sprint (Forsa/Cultus), Swift (3/5 doors HB and 4 doors Sedan), Esteem (Sedan and SW), Samurai (Hard Top, Soft Top and Long Body Soft Top), Jimny (Hard Top), Vitara and Grand Vitara (3/5 doors, until 2006. In 2007 the third generation of 5-door began to be sold as Suzuki, while the 3-door sold in Colombia is the second generation and it is still Chevrolet). GM Ecuador (Vitara 3/5 Doors Hard Top, including XL7, Grand Vitara 3/5 Doors Hard Top) and Venezuela (Swift Sedan). The difference with the Japanese versions were visible in the case of the Samurai.
In Europe, Suzuki made the Subaru Justy and G3X Justy, which was a version of the Swift and more recently, the Suzuki Ignis. Most of Mazda's (and Autozam's) small cars are made by Suzuki, as is the Nissan Moco. Particularly in Oceania, the Suzuki Samurai/Sierra was known as the Holden Drover between 1985 and 1987. The Chevrolet Cruze and Holden Cruze were also produced at Suzuki plants, like the Ignis but with bodywork. Holden. The Geo and Chevrolet Tracker were the Suzuki Vitara by another name.
Suzuki has launched vehicles with avant-garde and modern designs, such as the Kizashi, Vitara, which has established itself as one of the most reliable, sophisticated and well-known SUVs on the market; and the Swift. The latter has been a success since its inception, as in 2018 it won the award for the best vehicle of the year in Japan for the third time in a row.
In India it has been successful with its Maruti and Alto models. As for its country of origin, Suzuki still maintains a strong presence, as the Suzuki Wagon R launched in 1993, became one of the best-selling kei cars until 2018 with 4,600,000 units in Japan alone.