May 2011 Sales - American Suzuki

[Drew Dowdell]

AMERICAN SUZUKI MAY 2011 SALES UP 20 PERCENT

• Suzuki celebrates eighth consecutive year-over-year sales increase

• Kizashi sales up 89 percent calendar year to date

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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="650"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">

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</td> <td colspan="3" valign="bottom" width="254">MAY</td> <td colspan="3" valign="bottom" width="236">CYTD</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

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</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">2011</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">2010</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">MTD VS.</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">2011</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">2010</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">YTD VS.</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

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</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">MTD PRIOR YR.</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">

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</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="130">YTD PRIOR YR.</td> <td valign="bottom" width="17">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">GRAND VITARA:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">378</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">379</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">0%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">2,141</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">1,973</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">9%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">EQUATOR:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">174</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">136</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">28%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">810</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">549</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">48%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">SX4:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">1,112</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">885</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">26%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">4,948</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">5,026</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">-2%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">KIZASHI</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">622</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">474</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">31%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">3,193</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">1,693</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">89%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">XL7:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">4</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">28</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">-86%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">31</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">264</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">-88%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">FORENZA/RENO:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">0</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">1</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">0%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">1</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">9</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">-89%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="135">TOTAL:</td> <td valign="bottom" width="26">

</td> <td valign="bottom" width="52">2,290</td> <td valign="bottom" width="62">1,903</td> <td valign="bottom" width="140">20%</td> <td valign="bottom" width="51">11,124</td> <td valign="bottom" width="63">9,514</td> <td valign="bottom" width="121">17%</td> <td colspan="2" valign="bottom" width="26">

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2011 Suzuki Auto Product Line

Suzuki is proud to offer the most affordable all-wheel-drive lineup available in the U.S. and maintains a versatile array of vehicles, including the spirited SX4 Sport sedan, multipurpose five-door SX4 Crossover, SX4 SportBack hot hatch, refined Grand Vitara compact SUV, award-winning Equator pickup truck and performance-oriented Kizashi Sport. Every vehicle in the line provides Suzuki’s standout virtues of durability, leading-edge style and high-content at a competitive price. All 2011 Suzuki automobiles are backed by America’s #1 Warranty: a 100,000-mile/seven-year, fully transferable, zero-deductible powertrain limited warranty.

[PurdueGuy]

How in the world is Suzuki still operating in the US as such low sales rates?

[regfootball]

hey sales are up 22%........

here is the deal......for Amer Suz it's low risk, low volume approach...'get by' for now until things in the auto market develop for the future.

the strengths globally have small tiny-small cars which simply do better in other markets.

conversely i think the reason for a Kizashi is the US and try to do better here.

Personally, the GM tie up was nasty for them. The XL7 is / was liked but there was no model to follow it. Grand Vitara is designed for other markets really where the GV and its truck base have a dedicated base.

The Daewoo stuff is what killed a lot of the good will.......I have conversed with Aerio, Sprint / Metro, first XL7, Vitara and GV / tracker owners, pretty much anything that was not part of the GM/DAT lovechild, people love their rides. And they are quite brand loyal. I see this first hand.

The Forenzas, Veronas, Renos, etc.......... that's the stuff that killed a lot of progress. The Veronas......oy.......

Right now, the biggest gaps in the lineup are car like crossovers. The SX4 people love em who buy em but what most folks shop for is stuff like CRV's, Sportages, and then the 3 row stuff. A Kizashi based crossover would be good. And then a new SX4 design that is larger as well.

GV is old, the folks that do buy them like them but they are old and the truck base is not what the meat of the market wants.

People like the Equator, but part of it is because they know its the Frontier and the Nissan trucks have a lot of good will.

Kizashi needs to develop its niche more. It's a good car, but they'll need to concentrate more on the lesser price models and emphasize the value and develop some performance adds to the sport models to make them earn more car rube cred. Really they need to develop better unique selling propositions. The AWD is helpful as it really sells the base models here. People get an AWD car for winter for not much over 20 grand and its smooth and quiet. If the car had a G6 badge and pontiac grille it would be flying off lots.

SX4 buyers love their cars. I think people need to remember the SX4 is a slightly inflated Swift. IMO the wheelbase is about 6 inches too short and the car is 2-4 inches too narrow. Plus the windows are not liked by everyone. I really love the SX4 Sportback + manual. It's lighter and not carrying the AWD and the clutch and shifter are so fun and delicate. I would buy or lease one right now if I could swing it and could exit my cobalt. The sedan has a huge trunk and the CVT is a nice runner on that car.

One thing that is lacking across the entire lineup, and i hear this feedback a lot....lack of eye popping mpg numbers on the sticker. I get that. That is legit. The cars themselves to seem to outperform the stickers though.

The biggest chore however is stabilizing the dealer network and such and then growing it back again. More dealers will raise the visibility back up again. advertising and product development will follow.

I would bring the Swift, try like hell to get out an all new upsized SX4, fine tune the Kizashis, get a couple new crossovers, and hope you just are not running on fumes before all that happens.

This is a tough auto market..if Japan ever ramped up its commitment to the US market more........other markets are more important methinks......

Edited June 3, 2011 by regfootball

[PurdueGuy]

I want to like Suzuki. I've been looking to decide what vehicle I want for my biz, and have been considering pretty much any small hatchback. I thought maybe the SX4 would be great, until I saw it's fuel economy ratings. I know it's awd, but 31mpg highway for a car that small with 143hp is sad at best. Maybe I should see if there's one around I could test drive, but I'm honestly underwhemled. On top of that, you get to look forward to dealing with harder to find parts for a low volume vehicle. Seriously, for most US brands, each MODEL has to sell more than the entire Suzuki brand does to be considered to be not a complete flop.

[Intrepidation]

Those are some piss poor numbers. Th Aveo outsold the entire brand this month, and its YTD sales are more than the entire Suzuki brand's YTD sales.

[regfootball]

I want to like Suzuki. I've been looking to decide what vehicle I want for my biz, and have been considering pretty much any small hatchback. I thought maybe the SX4 would be great, until I saw it's fuel economy ratings. I know it's awd, but 31mpg highway for a car that small with 143hp is sad at best. Maybe I should see if there's one around I could test drive, but I'm honestly underwhemled. On top of that, you get to look forward to dealing with harder to find parts for a low volume vehicle. Seriously, for most US brands, each MODEL has to sell more than the entire Suzuki brand does to be considered to be not a complete flop.

the AWD is to blame on the crossover, it adds weight and drag you can feel and the engine needs more torq to keep on the boil. plus the car is 62 inches high.

the FWD sportback with the stick is pretty zippy though. the mpg is indeed a real concern although people do achieve beyond the highway numbers. for example, my neighbor has an 07sx4 which he has said will bring 35mpg some occassions. and that is with AWD.

when i go to true delta i see the sportback fwd does decently, its no cruze eco though. I know my cobalt feels like crap to drive in comparison. of course that could be even though GM was the largest and sells so much, they still sold junk like the cobalt. people buy tons of corollas also.

i'd like to see a turbo fwd or awd sportback. a 2950 pound AWD hatch with about 230-250 hp that would be a hoot.

cars like the focus SFE and elantra and cruze are low riders close to the tarmac and such. vehicles like the tucson and sportage you see big dropoffs in mpg due to the taller body and aerodynamics. and even then the cruze with automatic routinely gets complaints all over for really bad real world mpg.

the company moves 2.5 million units a year globally, i don't think the US is what matters to them mostly...as long as business grows back at a steady pace. Sometimes car rubes forget that the US is not the only auto market out there. I sort of think its funny the way VW, the new parent is watering down their products in a quest for volume but it will probably be funny to see the hipsters cringe when those Golfs are running around with Japanese running gear in them in a few years. If that is the case, then at least they won't be broken down like VW's are so much all the time.

Edited June 3, 2011 by regfootball

[FAPTurbo]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[PurdueGuy]

The FWD sportback is 150hp, 2734lbs (manual trans) and is rated for 22/30mpg. That's pretty sad. Unless pretty much all users are consistently getting notably better than that, there's something wrong with this formula.