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Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country.
Suzuki Motor Corporation (Japanese: スズキ株式会社, Hepburn: Suzuki Kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country. Suzuki's domestic motorcycle sales volume is the third largest in Japan.
History In 1909, Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the seacoast town of Hamamatsu, Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built weaving looms for Japan's giant silk industry. In 1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. The company's first 30 years focused on the development and production of these machines. Despite the success of his looms, Suzuki believed that his company would benefit from diversification and he began to look at other products. Based on consumer demand, he decided that building a small car would be the most practical new venture. The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact prototype cars. These first Suzuki motor vehicles were powered by a then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It had a cast aluminium crankcase and gearbox and generated 13 horsepower (9.7 kW) from a displacement of less than 800 cc. With the onset of World War II, production plans for Suzuki's new vehicles were halted when the government declared civilian passenger cars a "non-essential commodity." At the conclusion of the war, Suzuki went back to producing looms. Loom production was given a boost when the U.S. government approved the shipping of cotton to Japan. Suzuki's fortunes brightened as orders began to increase from domestic textile manufacturers. But the joy was short-lived as the cotton market collapsed in 1951. Faced with this colossal challenge, Suzuki returned to the production of motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation. A number of firms began offering "clip-on" petrol-powered engines that could be attached to the typical bicycle. Suzuki's first two-wheeled vehicle was a bicycle fitted with a motor called, the "Power Free." Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free had a 36 cc, one horsepower, two-stroke engine. The new double-sprocket gear system enabled the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering.
By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and his company had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Following the success of his first motorcycles, Suzuki created an even more successful automobile: the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight. The Suzulight sold with front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, which were not common on cars until three decades later. From 1981 to 1982, Suzuki played a prominent role in setting up the first largely foreign owned car company in India, Maruti Suzuki. Though originally majority-owned by the Indian government, Suzuki, which initially owned 26%, would obtain more shares of Maruti Suzuki in 2003, and later acquire the majority of the India-based subsidiary in 2007. Volkswagen held a 19.9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015. This situation did not last, as Suzuki accused Volkswagen of not sharing promised technology while Volkswagen objected to a deal where Suzuki purchased diesel engines from Fiat. An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell the stake back to Suzuki. Suzuki paid $3.8bn to complete the stock buy-back in September 2015. In November 2012, low sales forced Suzuki to closes its branches in the United States.
Leadership The company was founded by Michio Suzuki. In 1978, the company would be taken over by Osamu Suzuki, the fourth adopted son-in-law in a row to run the company, Osamu Suzuki, the 91 year old Chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, retired in June 2021, handing over to his son Toshihiro; Osamu Suzuki, who is credited with building the company into its current status and who also still stayed on as an advisor following his retirement as chairman, died in December 2024.
List of CEOs Michio Suzuki (1909–1957) Shunzo Suzuki (1957–1973) Jitsujiro Suzuki (1973–1977) Osamu Suzuki (1977–2000) Masao Toda (2000–2003) Hiroshi Tsuda (2003–2008) Osamu Suzuki (2008–2015) Toshihiro Suzuki (2015–present)
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