Suzuki talks big

If this had been just anyone talking about putting up an automotive plant in the Philippines, it could not have elicited serious reaction. But no, this was Satoshi Uchida, president of Suzuki Philippines Inc. (SPH), speaking.

You could say that Uchida was talking dreams. After all, Suzuki’s automotive business in the country, which had been taken over by the mother company just about a decade ago, is still not a major contender-even if last month’s sales had catapulted it to second place in the compact car segment.

Dreams, however, start from somewhere. And it’s difficult not to notice that when Uchida stepped in as country manager in 2009, he had issued a clarion call to his Filipino co-workers to double sales both in the motorcycle and automobile business segments by 2011. And darn they did.

In fact, last year, Suzuki broke ground in Calamba City’s Carmelray Industrial Park I for a new motorcycle manufacturing plant, one that would augment the current 8,000-unit production capacity of an existing plant built way back in 1985.

The motorcycle business continues to ride on a growing appetite of low-income Filipinos for personal mobility, and in a limited sense, as a reaction to the unreliable and costly public transport system in both the cities and rural areas. And SPH is fighting to keep a dominant share of the highly competitive market.

“We’re committed to introducing at least one motorcycle brand a year,” Uchida says,even if it’s just April and SPH had already rolled out two. Adding new models is necessary to grab attention in an industry that is seeing dozens of new brands being introduced in a year.

For automobiles, however, SPH is banking on the reputed fuel efficiency of two of its four-wheel brands. The sub-compact Alto and compact Celerio, for example, boast of having the most bang for every liter of gasoline: 34 km per liter and 34.34 km per liter, respectively.

With the price of gasoline, even diesel, going through the roof, buying a small car does have its attraction. No wonder that Suzuki believes that “small cars for a big future” is an appropriate motto that will win its way in the heart of Filipino families who can already set aside part of their monthly income to buying a car.

Not surprisingly, Altos and Celerios have become noticeable on the streets, zipping even on the expressways and challenging bigger models in speed department.

Uchida also promises that SPH will introduce at least one new car brand this year to beef up its current line-up of seven that includes the Swift, Jimny, SX4 Crossover, APV and Grand Vitara.

Coming up with more brands in its automobile business is a necessity if Suzuki will eventually really put up a manufacturing plant in the country. “We have to sell more to justify putting up a plant,” says Uchida. This means ramping up sales by 300 percent, or even more, before head office will even look at any proposal.

Currently, Suzuki’s automobiles sold in the Philippines come from Japan or India, two countries with manufacturing plants that have capacities of producing millions of vehicles a year.

Right now, Uchida is busy strategizing on how to catch Filipinos’ attention to buying the brand. He mulls that the Philippine automobile market is unique in a sense that first-car owners prefer mid-sized to large cars, altogether ignoring minis, sub-compacts and compacts.

But Uchida is not disheartened by this prevailing preference. This is a challenge that he has taken to heart, and one that holds the key to his dream of putting up a Suzuki automobile manufacturing plant in the Philippines.