Suzuki sticks to fuel efficiency, low price

Suzuki, for so long, had been known for its motorcycles. Then recently, it showed just how much desirable its small svelte cars are. Lately, it’s been making inroads in the mid-sized sedan market, notably with the entry of Kizashi.

Introduced by Suzuki in 2007 in different car shows around the world, the mass production of Kizashi only started in 2010.

And only this year was it introduced in the Philippines and marketed as a luxury sedan.

Before Kizashi, Suzuki had rarely ventured away from producing compact-sized and budget-friendly vehicles.

But just before the onset of 2012, the world’s 9th largest car manufacturer introduced a hatchback that cost only less than half a million pesos. Suzuki also introduced the Swift subcompact sedan, the Jimny 4WD mini SUV, the SX4 subcompact hatchback, the Grand Vitara compact SUV, the Celerio and Alto mini-sedans. The Alto K10 is the new hatchback of Alto.

Brand identity

If there is one thing that Suzuki is out to prove, it is the challenge that it can sell cars to consumers on the strength of the brand’s fuel-efficiency, environment friendliness, and most of all, affordability.

Its most popular models Swift, APV, Jimny and SUV Vitara can attest to this. Suddenly, being small is not just the Japanese vehicle maker’s competitive edge.

Gearing for growth, Suzuki has expanded its dealership networks in the country.

This is the result of the growing demand from the Philippine market. The company had added five more to its 20 existing dealerships, and is looking at adding five to 10 more in the coming year.

Additional dealerships

In previous reports, company president Satoshi Uchida said that the additional dealerships aim to increase coverage and help boost sales. When the company pushed Kizashi in the market, it hoped to reach a total of 5,500 vehicle sales as opposed to the previous target of 5,000.

So far, the company has sold a total of 4,197 from January to November, a huge improvement from the 4,000 total units it sold in 2011.

To further boost its market presence, Suzuki continues to be active in events sponsorships such as the “2012 National Drag Racing Championship (NRDC)” finales held recently at Macapagal Boulevard in Aseana City, Parañaque.

These activities help boost an approachable image, one that adds to the total brand character targeting low- and middle-income Filipino families.

With the current line-up of cars and a revitalized sales force and dealership network, Suzuki is set to convince Filipinos that, if we may tweak a popular advertising line, every Juan can own a car.