In 1908, founder Michio Suzuki made a loom by hand in order to make his mother’s work easier, which led to the founding of Suzuki Loom Works. A desire to solve the problems of its customers is where Suzuki started. It began as a loom business and expanded into multiple businesses.

Michio Suzuki, founder, and the first loom, gifted to his mother

In 1952, the history of Suzuki motorcycles began with the launch of the Power Free motorized bicycle, which delighted customers by enabling them to travel longer distances with ease.
Three years later, Suzuki entered the automobile sector with the launch of Suzulight, the first mass-produced mini vehicle in Japan, and ultimately expanded into its current business with the later addition of outboard motors and motorized wheelchairs.

Power Free

Suzuki, which has characteristically handled both motorcycles and automobiles for a long time, leveraged the convenience and economical performance offered by motorcycles to quickly seize opportunities for motorization around the world. We have increased our contact points with customers this way, traveling a path of popularization and expansion from motorcycles to automobiles while growing together with the economies of countries and regions.
A particularly significant turning point in our global development came in 1979 with the birth of the Alto. The Alto, which went on sale at a price so low that it defied common sense, became a massive hit, and we could build the Japanese mini vehicle market.
This led to a great leap forward in Suzuki’s overseas expansion with the formation of a business alliance with General Motors. Moreover, we were able to establish a joint venture company because we were chosen as a partner for India’s national car development initiative. Subsequently, Suzuki’s reputation in India spread to Hungary, resulting in the expansion of plants into Europe.

Alto

In order to grow together with the countries and regions in which we operate, we have been contributing to economic development by expanding markets through local production overseas and by providing products and services that meet local needs.
In India, we started operating our first local automobile production plant in 1983 and currently have expanded annual production capacity to 2.25 million vehicles. Our history of factory expansion is also the history of our relationship with business partners, and we move forward on the same path while growing together, building a strong procurement network with a high local procurement ratio exceeding 90%. Furthermore, we have worked to expand our sales and service networks, and the network, which extends to rural areas, is our greatest strength. In recent years, we have been accelerating local R&D and actively recruiting talented engineers.
In this way, we are contributing to India’s economic growth while creating many local jobs through production, procurement, sales and development in the automobile industry that affects many areas. In January 2023, we passed 25 million cumulative domestic sales in India.

Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited

Products we make based on “Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty),” the root of Suzuki’s manufacturing, are compact while being user-friendly, high performance and offered at affordable prices. By providing many people with freedom of movement, we support lifestyles in communities throughout the world.
In Japan, mini vehicles that are easy to use and economical have become an indispensable part of life as a means to get around, particularly in rural areas where public transport is not easily accessible. Moreover, mini-truck markets are held annually in regional cities, gathering mini-trucks in shopping areas and using the flatbeds of their vehicles to sell products such as foods, local specialties or sundries. These markets attract many customers at little expense, contributing to revitalizing local economies.
Meanwhile, in emerging countries, the affordable, highly functional compact cars in which Suzuki excels match the needs of customers making their first car purchase, enabling many customers to enjoy a comfortable and prosperous lifestyle through an automobile.

A scene from the 7th National Mini-Truck Market in Nagano Prefecture

A feature of the world’s first Micro-Plastic Collecting Device for outboard motors, in which mass-production started in July 2022, is that it has an extremely simple structure that also keeps down component costs, rather than being a complicated and expensive device. The device could probably have been thought up by anyone and came about from a chat about cleaning up waterside areas. But it was an idea for a device that nobody else had made, and we approached it proactively by taking on the challenge of just giving it a try, then through repeated trial and error, managed to commercialize it in a very short time. We wanted as many people as possible to use it, so kept the outboard motor performance untouched and thought about how simply and how affordable we could make it. We want to solve social issues together with our customers while having them enjoy products made with Suzuki’s unique ingenuity and thoughtfulness backed by “Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty).”

A DF115B outboard motor equipped with a Micro-Plastic Collecting Device

Among the issues confronting the automobile industry, we place particular importance on electrification toward achieving carbon neutrality. In compact cars, an area in which Suzuki excels, we have gained great support from many people because of their affordability, but making them into EV would raise the price, thus reducing the benefits of these compact cars. To continue to be an irreplaceable presence in people’s lives, we need to leverage the philosophy behind “Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty),” achieve a balance between cost and driving range and equipment, respond to customer needs and usage styles, and have a policy of developing the right EVs for the right place to launch onto the market.
Moreover, as an initiative unique to Suzuki, we will tackle the challenge of producing and supplying carbon neutral biogas derived from cow dung, a waste product from dairy farming common in rural India. This biogas fuel can be used in Suzuki’s CNG vehicles, which account for a share of approx. 70% of India’s CNG vehicle market, and if we are able to make this materialize, it will enable us to continue providing automobiles at affordable prices. This technology can be developed not just for India, but for emerging countries in Africa and ASEAN, as well as for farming areas in Japan.

We will continue to develop our mobility business, centered on automobiles and including motorcycles, outboard motors and motorized wheelchairs, and through providing products and services that support customers’ lives aim to be a company that continues to be needed by people and society by both solving social issues and achieving corporate growth.