Company Overview
Suzuki Motor Corporation is a multinational company headquartered in Japan. It was
founded by Michio Suzuki who grew the company from the loom industry when he recognized
additional consumer’s need of having a reliable vehicle to get to and from work. His first project
of building a small practical vehicle began in 1929 but was halted because of the war. Suzuki
specializes in automobiles, 4X4 vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, outboard marine
engines, wheelchairs and more. They are Japans second largest manufacturer of small cars and
trucks and also dominate the market in India. American Suzuki Motor corp. launched in 1985
and struggles to gain a range of customers because of their limited choice of vehicles. The
Suzuki Samurai was the car that they wanted to sell extensively in the US Market. Traditionally,
competitors and other car marketers positioned their cars or trucks into one of three categories
including sport utility vehicle, a compact pick-up truck or a subcompact car. They have
struggled to compete with other companies such as Honda and Toyota and have a limited
number of cars in the United States. To sell efficiently in the United States Suzuki has to build its
brand image the way they have done with their motorcycles. Suzuki dominates in the Indian
and Japanese markets, and should use this knowledge to their advantage in the diverse and
cultural land of the United States. Suzuki Motor Corp is a brand that has been losing market
share in the American market segment because of the image that it portrays. Recently ,
companies such as Hyundai have been able to produce low-cost high efficiency cars that eat
Suzuki’s sales. The issue Americans are having is that the Suzuki cars are at the same price
point, but are of lesser quality than the competitors. This recently has forced them to withdraw
from the American market. By focusing on quality improvements and product development,
Suzuki may be able to get repeat customers from their bikes as well as gain more market share
by growing customer loyalty and trust.