Suzuki down but not glum
June 28th, 2010 by Richard Aucock
SUZUKI admits its sales this year will be down around 10 percent but is still comfortable with the situation.
This is because the decline is in line with that of the broader market.
It means Suzuki will retain its market share position in what assistant to the MD Atsushi Niwa admits is a challenging environment.
Encouragingly for dealers, he says, the brand is well placed for the future, because of its strong small car position. Suzuki has 4 cars in the A and B sector. ‘Our model line up fits the market trend.’
The firm also senses an opportunity in overcoming a perception in the market, that to get low CO2 emissions, you have to choose a diesel car.
‘Many people are focused on diesel – but if you think value for money and cost of ownership, petrol still has a significant role to play.
‘Our new Swift will achieve 116g/km CO2, which is one among the lowest for petrol cars in this class – yet it will come without the price premium of diesel.
‘This is a significant advantages to dealers selling in a cost-conscious environment.’
As for its dealer mix, Niwa is happy that its 150-strong UK network is the right size to meet its 30,000 car buyers.
‘We are not planning to grow – but we are going to focus on quality. We want to improve the proposition each dealer offers.
‘This will include basic things like CSI scores, financial information analysis and an internal scoring system to evaluate each dealer.
‘We’ll be able to benchmark good and bad areas, and provide a mechanism for helping dealers improve on their weaknesses.’
By Richard Aucock