After selling its vehicles in the United States for just three years shy of three decades, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. has announced that it will end the sales of its passenger vehicle model lineup. Yesterday, U.S. distributor American Suzuki Motor Corp. confirmed that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to the company, not only is Suzuki cars challenged with low sales from poor U.S. brand equity and a very small sliver of the market, the company is furthered hindered with rising production costs due to a strengthening yen, causing profitability from a small-margin compact-car lineup near impossible. What's more, future federal regulations would have only posed more challenges for the minnow company.
Since it first sold vehicles in the United States in 1985, the company had dedicated much of its focus on the compact cars and medium truck market. However, just as Suzuki decided to shift its strategy towards larger passenger cars with the new Kizashi sedan in 2007, the United States was dealt the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression. The credit crisis was so brutal, in fact, that American giant General Motors resorted to bankruptcy filing, effectively dissolving its joint production venture with Suzuki in Canada. Not only must Suzuki export all its vehicles from Japan, but competition in the small car market intensified as gasoline prices rose sharply.
Having sold as many as 102,000 vehicles in 2007, Suzuki saw its piece of the market shrink at an alarming rate. For Suzuki's last fiscal year ending March 2012, the automaker only managed to sell 26,266 vehicles in the U.S., which resulted to a $15.8 million net loss.
Despite its sales pull-out, Suzuki will continue its after-sales service centers. Finally, Suzuki will continue operating its highly successful motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, and marine equipment business in the United States.
Because the United States had always been one of the biggest automotive markets in the world, its a shame that Suzuki could not manage to make a bigger impression despite its noble efforts.
As a tribute for the Suzuki fans out there that truly appreciate the small-car manufacturer, here are the top 5 Suzuki cars for the U.S. market:
5. Suzuki Swift
4. Suzuki SX-4
3. Suzuki Sidekick
2. Suzuki Kizashi
1. Suzuki Hyabusa-- thankfully, the best Suzuki ever made isn't a car. In fact, Hyabusa is one of the best-selling superbikes in the U.S.
