About Suzuki Cars
Michio Suzuki was the founder of the Suzuki and surprisingly started his career in the textile industry in 1909 in a small village called Hamamatsu. The business although successful struggled financially and therefore he knew that they had to change path. Therefore they started to make cars in 1937 by first developing a prototype.
Suzuki created their very own model that was a four-cylinder engine that emitted 13 horsepower. However, with the start of WWII production of passenger cars became a mere luxury, not a necessity and so they went back to making textiles.
After the war, Suzuki turned to bicycle making and started to make their engines. Unlike other makers at the time their engines were different in that they could completely disconnect the pedals and this interested the Government at the time which funded Suzuki to carry out research.
During the 50s they produced several models including the Suzulight SS in 1955 which was a 2-door sedan, the Suzulight SD which was a 2-door wagon shortly followed by the SL, a 3-door sedan. The SP that was produced at this time was a pick-up AND was the most successful of all the cars produced in this era. This was marketed as their commercial type of vehicle and in 1960 the Suzulight Van was introduced. Other models that were produced in the 1960s include the Suzuki Fronte 360 which was a small car and the Suzuki Fronte 500.
The now famous off-road car, the Jimny was introduced in 1970, which was available in many different variations of both chassis and engine. Other models that were produced in the 1970s included the Cervo, the Alto and the Fronte which had further improvements made during the forthcoming years.
Throughout the 1980s Suzuki started to further expand its operations and mainly thanks to General Motors in 1981 they were able to gain a niche in the Western market. At this time they also partnered with Maruti, who were an Indian car company to produce cars in India. In 1984, Suzuki Motor GmbH Deutschland was formed in Heppenheim, Germany.
Within the late 1980s, Suzuki introduced many new modes including the Swift and the Vitara models, and a staggering sum of 10 million units were sold. In 1980 they marketed three electric power generator models and released a series of motorbikes known as the GSX series. In 1988 the Escudo Vitara was introduced. This was a 1.6-litre 4x4 vehicle. The Swift also began to be sold in the United States.
During the 1990s, the company continued its global expansion with factories being opened all over the world. They also introduced more 4x4 models. 1991 saw the introduction of the Cappuccino mini which was a two-seater convertible.
2013 was the year that Suzuki released a Special Edition GSX-R1000 model S. They also unveiled their second-generation SX4 vehicle at the 83rd Geneva International Motor Show.
Suzuki is now the 12th biggest car manufacturer in the world with their cars being sold in 192 countries.