THE SUZUKI SALES PHENOMENON IN SOUTH AFRICA CONTINUES…
Suzuki Auto continues to astound local industry commentators and its competitors in the South African vehicle market as it has outsold Volkswagen/Audi in terms of retail sales through its dealers for each of the first three months of 2024. Suzuki had languished for many years in the lower ranks of local vehicle distributors since the establishment of Suzuki Auto in 2007 and the start of sales in 2008, but for the past few years, since 2017, it has leapfrogged its way up the sales charts.
The company has just announced its final sales figure for the 2023 financial year from April 2023 to March 2024 at 51 969 units, which marks the first time the brand has sold more than 50 000 units in a fiscal year in South Africa. Last year it was only 434 units short of hitting the 50 000 mark.
When Suzuki rose into third place behind Toyota and Volkswagen, for the first time in May 2022, it surprised many people. It was generally felt that it was a flash in the pan. This was certainly not the case and extremely far from the mark. The brand is now well set in third place in terms of both total sales and passenger car sales. The number of Suzuki’s model ranges has increased over the years too and now stands at 13.
Now it is proving it can even outsell Volkswagen/Audi, the long-time runner-up to Toyota, in terms of dealer sales. Rental, government, and single unit sales enable Volkswagen to hold onto its second position, but out there in the retail marketplace Suzuki is now setting the pace, even though Volkswagen has the benefit of access to many fleets due to its involvement in the South African motor industry going back more than 70 years.
It seems that the Suzuki recipe is having a wide range of affordable cars that fit in well with the buy-down trend among local buyers. The fact that several Suzuki models are also being branded as Toyotas is not hurting the brand either as buyers know that if Toyota is prepared to rebadge a Suzuki and sell it through its network it must be up to the expectations of the long-time local market leader in terms of quality, reliability, and durability.
Suzuki is also enjoying growing sales of its range of outboard motors in South Africa. Last year the brand was again the top-seller in four-stroke outboards with a dominant market share of almost 50%.
Over the years Suzuki has built up a proud record as a strong seller in many other markets in the world.
For instance, in India, where Suzuki is built in a long-running partnership with Maruti it had seven of the top 10 best best-selling vehicles in India in 2023, including the first four. Leading the pack was the Swift with sales of 203 500 units. The best-selling SUV was the Brezza, which sold 170 600 units. Maruti-Suzuki sales in 2023 totalled 2 066 219 units, with this being the first time that the company has sold more than two million vehicles in a calendar year.
Maruti Suzuki production passed 30 million units in March this year. It has taken 40 years and four months to reach this mark, but it is the quickest country to make 30 million Suzuki’s. It took 55 years and two months to reach this total in its home country of Japan.
It is interesting to note that about 50% of all passenger cars sold in South Africa last year were sourced from several factories in India. India is now poised to reach a production record, with the aim of making 4.9-million vehicles in 2024.
Maruti Suzuki sells about 40% of all passenger cars in India. Maruti was formed as a government entity in 1981 with Suzuki as a minor partner. The objective for this company was for it to build affordable cars for the growing Indian middle class. This put it on a sound footing and it has continued to flourish.
Suzuki is also the No. 1 seller of the so-called Kei mini cars in Japan, with sales of 531 707 units last year. These cars have strict dimensional and engine capacity limits. These are: maximum length: 3.4 metres; maximum height – 2 metres; maximum width – 1.48 metres and maximum engine capacity is 660 cc.
The Suzuki name came to the South African automotive market in the 1960s as a motorcycle manufacturer. This was followed by a range of outboard motors for boats and then, in the 1980’s, a small range of passenger cars arrived and were marketed in half-hearted fashion by General Motors, which had a 20.4% share in Suzuki Japan at that stage.
Cash-strapped GM cut its shareholding in Suzuki by 17.4% in 2006, keeping only 3%, which it then sold in 2008. The Volkswagen Group then bought a 20% share in Suzuki in 2009, but the partnership did not work, and Suzuki bought back its shares in 2015 after a court feud between the two companies.
Next Toyota bought a 4.9% share in Suzuki in 2019, with Suzuki taking a 0.2% reciprocal share in Toyota. This burgeoning tie-up between the two brands has resulted in cross-branding between the two brands to meet common objectives of increasing production and sales volume, thereby benefitting significantly from economies of scale.
The Suzuki passenger car brand was relaunched in South Africa under the Suzuki Auto banner in 2007 and sales of new models began in 2008. For the next 10 years Suzuki was a mid-field competitor. Then came a renaissance in 2017. Since then, the brand and its model range have grown exponentially. Sales volumes have more than quadrupled while the number of dealers has grown from 48 to 105, all in less than eight years. Amazing!
By Roger Houghton
