At Suzuki, we use the term “operating system (OS)” to describe our approach to corporate management and what lies at its core—what is “unique to Suzuki.” Just as basic software runs computers and smartphones, our OS underpins every action we take and every judgment we make. We will continuously maintain and strengthen it. The OS comprises the Mission Statement and the Philosophy of Conduct, which consists of three aspects in Japanese: “Three Realities and Two Fundamentals,” “Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty),” and “YARAMAIKA.”

At the core of our OS is the Mission Statement, whose first principle is “Develop products of superior value by focusing on the customer.” It reflects our commitment to staying close to people's daily lives and pursuing technologies and services. This is the most important principle in Suzuki's management.

“Three Realities and Two Fundamentals” represents our approach to problem-solving. In September 2025, we expanded the concept of “Genba, Genbutsu, Genjitsu” which emphasizes going to the Actual Place, observing the Actual Thing, and confirming the Actual Situation—by adding Genri and Gensoku, meaning the Fundamental Principle and Fundamental Rule. As technologies used in product development and information utilization become more advanced, we believe that the resolution with which we perceive “Genba, Genbutsu, Genjitsu (Actual Place, Actual Thing, Actual Situation)” will improve, enabling us to investigate them more deeply than ever before and move step by step closer to “Genri (Fundamental Principle).” This, in turn, requires us to examine more deeply and reassess even what we have previously regarded as “Gensoku (Fundamental Rule).” “Genba, Genbutsu, Genjitsu (Actual Place, Actual Thing, Actual Situation)” serves as our starting point; from there, we pursue a deeper understanding and move closer to the essence of things. We added “Two Fundamentals (Fundamental Principle and Fundamental Rule)” to “Three Realities (Actual Place, Actual Thing, Actual Situation)” to clearly express this approach.

“Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty)” originated at our production sites. It represents the approach to manufacturing that we regard as essential to delivering value to customers. This means eliminating waste in the use of resources and energy and delivering products that are just right for the way our customers live. This is what makes Suzuki unique.

Lastly, “YARAMAIKA (Entrepreneurial Spirit)” is a philosophy for maintaining quick decision-making, close interpersonal relationships, the flexibility required to address change, and a willingness to take on challenges, while avoiding the organizational inertia and bureaucracy often seen in large companies. We aim to build an organization in which every Suzuki Group employee takes ownership and acts swiftly.

Under this OS, it is each and every employee who works to stay close to customers. All employees, not only those who engage directly with customers, will unite as Team Suzuki, share the OS comprising the Mission Statement and the three aspects of the Philosophy of Conduct, and work to stay close to customers.

Since the days of Suzuki Loom Works, the predecessor of present-day Suzuki Motor Corporation, Suzuki has stayed close to customers and contributed to local communities by serving as infrastructure supporting people’s lives. Its founder, Michio Suzuki, established the company after building a loom by hand to make his mother’s work easier. In commercializing the loom, he sought feedback from people around him who used it, addressed the problems they identified, and made repeated improvements. This marked the beginning of Suzuki’s practice of focusing on the customer in product development.

In Japan, Suzuki has led the way in developing small, easy-to-use vehicles that offer high performance at affordable prices. In addition to passenger cars for daily use and leisure, we developed mini trucks and mini vans that are indispensable at worksites, making a significant contribution to the growth and development of Japanese industry. In overseas markets as well, including Pakistan and Hungary, Suzuki vehicles have been embraced as national cars that support people’s lives, earning the trust of customers.

In India, now a pillar of Suzuki’s growth strategy, we participated in India’s national car development initiative, a government-led project launched in the early 1980s. We introduced a compact car for the mass market that helped advance motorization in India, while building locally rooted production and sales operations. Since then, we have continued to expand our service network across India. Today, the network is approaching 6,000 service locations. This network is a source of competitive strength that enables us to maintain a dominant market share.

Outside Japan and India as well, in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, and Hungary, we have supported people’s lives by understanding what local customers want and providing “People's car” that serve as national cars in each country. We will continue to pursue coexistence and mutual prosperity with local communities and contribute to it as infrastructure supporting people’s lives.

In the Mid-Term Management Plan “By Your Side,” we set out our vision of becoming “an infrastructure mobility closely connected with people’s lives.”

In recent years, the environment surrounding the automotive industry has changed dramatically. In particular, advances in autonomous driving and sharing services are prompting a fundamental reconsideration of not only automobiles but mobility as a whole. Just as we always have, Suzuki wants to continue supporting mobility in local communities as “infrastructure mobility” that is closely connected with and indispensable to people’s lives.

To us, “infrastructure mobility” means more than vehicles that simply enable people to travel. In the future, as autonomous driving and connected technologies advance, we believe mobility will function as part of social infrastructure by working in coordination with roads, transportation systems, local services, and other elements. That is why we will look beyond the vehicle as a standalone product and focus on the entire mobility system that supports people’s lives and work. As we advance co-creation with diverse partners, we will take on the challenge of providing new value.

To expand the value that “infrastructure mobility” is expected to deliver, collaboration with other companies, including those in different industries and fields, will likely become increasingly important. Creating a highly convenient, safe, and secure environment for many people will also require more human-centered thinking than ever before. With this in mind, we need to reconsider whether we can continue doing things in the same way and recognize that we must actively take on challenges in areas that are new to us.

Suzuki operates across a broad range of business domains, extending beyond mobility for daily use and leisure to work mobility that supports worksites. In other words, we are expanding the range of value we deliver through mobility beyond the boundaries of an automobile manufacturer.

One specific product example is the Jimny, an off-road four-wheel-drive vehicle that meets Japan’s mini vehicle standards. It is not only popular for leisure use but also highly valued as an indispensable mobility solution by customers working on steeply sloped farms or engaged in hunting, forestry, and other fields.

We are also advancing the use of technologies across divisional and product category boundaries. We pursue product development through flexible collaboration and cooperation, for example by applying technologies developed over many years through our work on electric senior vehicles to the base unit of a versatile electric platform. I believe this is a strength unique to Suzuki, made possible by the organizational structure under our “YARAMAIKA (Entrepreneurial Spirit)” management approach.

Going forward, through efforts such as strengthening collaboration with startups, we intend to move swiftly and proactively pursue initiatives driven by fresh ideas to further expand the business domains of “infrastructure mobility.”

Suzuki’s technology strategy is “Right × Light Mobile Tech.” The name combines “Right (just right)” and “Light (lightweight),” two concepts closely linked to our Philosophy of Conduct, “Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi (Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter, Beauty).” The strategy advances initiatives along two axes: “Minimization of Energy,” which means being by the side of the Earth, and “Maximization of Essential Value,” which means being by the side of the People.

Amid heightened uncertainty in international affairs, the need for more efficient use of energy is continuing to grow. Suzuki will achieve Minimization of Energy by focusing on the development of SLight technologies to reduce vehicle weight by 100 kg, high-efficiency internal combustion engines, and electrification technologies. For Maximization of Essential Value, meanwhile, we will return to the fundamentals of car-making and re-examine the essential functions of a vehicle. Through “just-right features at a just-right price,” we will provide customers with safety, ease of operation, and the joy of driving. Of course, “infrastructure mobility,” which I have discussed so far, is also an important element of Maximization of Essential Value.

With regard to powertrains, Suzuki will pursue practical technology choices through a “multi-pathway approach.” Rather than shifting uniformly to EVs worldwide, our approach is to deliver optimal combinations of powertrains and energy technologies for each country and region, taking into account local infrastructure conditions and what customers can reasonably afford.

We do not believe that equipping every EV with a large-capacity battery is the only right answer. When we look at how customers use their vehicles in daily life, many primarily travel short distances. We therefore believe it is important to combine battery capacity suited to the intended use with a lightweight vehicle body, rather than installing a battery larger than necessary, thereby balancing energy efficiency with affordability.

In India, where coal-fired power generation accounts for approximately 70% of total electricity generation, promoting EVs alone will not lead to substantial CO2 reductions. Suzuki therefore aims to achieve carbon neutrality by producing biogas from the abundant cow dung available in rural areas and using it as fuel for CNG vehicles, a segment in which Suzuki holds a high share of the local market.

As another option for countries with major agricultural sectors, we are also developing flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which can operate on any blend of ethanol and gasoline, thereby supporting the use of plant-derived bioethanol fuel. In June 2026, Suzuki launched its first flex-fuel automobile through Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

India currently has a population of approximately 1.4 billion, but only around 400 million people are said to be able to afford an automobile. Through Next Bharat Ventures, we will build connections with the “Next Billion” and contribute to addressing the social issue of income inequality in India by creating jobs in rural areas and expanding the middle class. We are also pursuing other initiatives to increase the incomes of farmers in rural areas. One such initiative is the production of biogas from cow manure, as mentioned earlier. This provides farmers with additional income through the sale of their cow manure.

In Japan, we will continue to grow together with our dealers and business partners nationwide and contribute to the revitalization of local communities. We also plan to focus on co-creation with external partners, including startups.

I believe we made a solid start in FY2025, the first year of the Mid-Term Management Plan “By Your Side.”

What we need to do is to develop the vehicles our customers need, sell them effectively, and continue to reliably provide the services they require. Although we have set target performance figures, achieving those targets is not an end in itself. We will continue to place importance on making every effort so that our customers feel glad that they bought a Suzuki vehicle.

Suzuki entered the EV market later than other Japanese automakers, but I do not believe that we are too late. As demand for EVs begins to grow in earnest, the real challenge will be how to convert that demand into actual customer purchases. We will promote activities to help customers better understand the benefits and practical use of EVs, as we aim to make 2026 a landmark year for EV adoption.

Amid major changes in the business environment, what is required of us is to provide products and services that customers will continue to choose, build a strong management base, and sustainably enhance corporate value.

To enhance corporate value, it is important to concentrate our limited management resources in areas that truly create value.

We introduced Suzuki-style ROIC management to enable more precise managerial decision-making based on data and facts, rather than relying solely on experience and intuition. It serves as a tool for Team Suzuki to discuss where management resources should be allocated. By combining it with Suzuki’s OS, we will strive to further enhance corporate value.

We believe that digital technologies, including AI, will be one component of this management base. In utilizing AI, however, introducing the technology itself is not the objective. It is important that, after thoroughly applying “Three Realities and Two Fundamentals” by confirming “Genba, Genbutsu, Genjitsu (Actual Place, Actual Thing, Actual Situation)” and drilling down to “Genri (Fundamental Principle)” and “Gensoku (Fundamental Rule),” we steadily deploy AI in areas that will contribute to strengthening our competitiveness and earning power.

We will also continue our efforts in AI-related risk management—including information security, intellectual property protection, and the appropriate use of AI—as well as in human capital development. We will leverage AI as a means of enhancing human wisdom and frontline capabilities, linking each employee’s efforts to take on challenges to the growth of Team Suzuki as a whole.

The corporate slogan “By Your Side” is a brief and straightforward expression that encapsulates the thoughts embodied in the Mission Statement and Philosophy of Conduct, which I have discussed since the beginning of this message. Those whose side we should be on include not only customers who purchase our products but also business partners connected to us through the supply chain and colleagues with whom we work within the Company—in other words, everyone with whom each of us interacts. Being conscious of the need to put ourselves on “Your Side” and think and act from that perspective should bring further growth and development to Team Suzuki.

Every member of Team Suzuki will take on the challenge of making a leap forward as we strive to meet the expectations of all our stakeholders, enhance corporate value, and become “infrastructure mobility” that continues to contribute to society.