Suzuki is a Japanese manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu. In addition to automobiles, it is also rolls out its motorcycles, ATV’s (All Terrain Vehicles) , outboard motors and even wheelchairs. The company started in 1909, and is the 9th largest automaker by volume. It’s got over 45,000 employees and 35 main production sites that move products via 133 distributors in 23 countries.
Suzuki is even more revered in the world of motorcycling than in 4-wheeled motoring. This is mainly because of its long history of motorbike production, including such hallowed models like the Hayabusa (meaning Falcon) performance bike and the Enduro offroader. The Hayabusa motorbike is one of the world’s fastest production motorcycles, able to top a scary 190 mph on open roads.
The Suzuki range in New Zealand begins with the Alto, also called the Suzuki Cervo in other markets,. It is also produced in conjunction with other carmakers in other regions, where it is marketed variously as the Daewoo Tico, Nissan Pixo or Maruti Alto in India.
The Swift is a good-looking sporty supermini also sold as the Splash, and also produced as the Opel Agila. Its 2005 marketing campaign was fronted by Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (currently the world’s most expensive footballer) to play up the car’s ‘sport’ credentials. The Swift has been a surprise sales success in both Europe and Japan, where sales figures have doubled original forecasts.
The Grand Vitara is a compact SUV available in 3 or 5-door options.
The SX4 is an unusual compact sport-hatch sold with a 1.6 or 2.0 engine. The Jimny is a long-running tiny 3-door SUV, which started being produced in 1968.
Looking at buying a Suzuki? Check the history of any Suzuki by entering its number plate in the field above.