Suzuki completes a masterful 100

Going back in 1909, a gentleman called Michio Suzuki founded a textile loom company in southern Japan called Suzuki. Yes you read right, the company that currently manufactures one of the most advanced bikes, cars boats etc started life as a humble loom company but then it was also in illustrious company for Toyota also got going by making textile looms. And it was while manufacturing looms for production of plain white fabric he learned that weavers wanted looms that could produce cloth with vertical and horizontal stripes; so he developed a unique loom capable of weaving patterned cloth from dyed yarn. Suzuki's new innovation represented the start of an uncompromising focus on creating products that met people's needs and realizing new lifestyle possibilities.

Suzuki's motorcycle innings began in 1952 with the Power Free which had a 36cc two-stroke engine. The Power Free was extremely basic in its design offering very easy maintenance. Its unique feature at that time was the double-sprocket gear system which enabled the bike to be ridden fully motorized, partially motorised or by using the pedals without any engine assistance. Fast forward to a year later and Suzuki was well on its way in the two-wheeler segment, already churning out 6000 motorcycles a month.

The cars followed shortly, with Suzuki manufacturing its first car in 1955. The Suzulight as it was known was a compact car with a 360cc two-stroke engine. It was one of the first cars to feature front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack and pinion steering which only became common in cars almost a few decades later. The company then branched into off-road vehicles as well in 1970 and out came the LJ series of lightweight 4x4s.

For those who did not know, Suzuki was and still is into boats as well. The first marine outboard motor was introduced in 1965. Suzuki's expansion into the housing field (like Toyota again!) initiated with Suzuki Home marketing two models of prefab 'Mini-House' and three types of storage sheds. The company's first ever ATV or all terrain vehicle was introduced in 1982.

Suzuki pretty soon established itself as a company fuelled by growth. Aggregate car production topped 10 million units in 1989, and global annual production exceeded 1 million units by 1990. Since then, Suzuki has continued to enjoy growth in demand with its annual car production breaking the 2 million unit barrier in 2005 and total car production reaching 40 million units in 2008.Europe has seen a steady demand for Suzuki cars as well showing steady growth with cumulative sales reaching a whopping 4.5 million units since 1968 when exports began with the Fronte.

Suzuki further increased its throttlehold by introducing its world strategic models. The first one in this category, the Swift, is produced in Japan, Hungary, India, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The current Swift was introduced in 2005 and last year, aggregate production of the supermini reached 1 million units with 2009 also celebrating of 25 years of the Swift model name in Europe.

Suzuki's second world strategic model, the Grand Vitara was spawned in 2006. The car was an evolution of the first-generation Vitara series, with which Suzuki pioneered the market for compact sport utility vehicles 21 years ago. Since then, worldwide production of the Grand Vitara has now reached 2.6 million units. The third model was the SX4 sport crossover which proved its rally pedigree right after its launch by competing in the World Rally Championship in 2007 and 2008.

Suzuki recently launched its fourth model, the Splash also known as the Ritz in India recently. Where the, Grand Vitara, and SX4 reflect a focus on sportiness, the Splash/Ritz, reflects a focus on families and highlights the effectiveness with which a compact car can meet family needs.

March this year saw the launch of the seventh generation Alto or the A-Star as we call it in India. A car which has dominated the mini vehicle segment in Japan for 30 years. As of now as much as 10 million Alto's have been sold globally since its inception in 1979. Suzuki's Indian innings began in 1983 with the Maruti Suzuki 800, which was actually the international Alto. To put things into perspective, out of the 11 million passenger cars currently on the roads of India; more than seven and a half million are Suzukis and four million of those are Altos. That's a truly mind-numbing figure if ever there was in such a context.

Looking to the future; Suzuki plans to concentrate strongly on lowering emissions even further and presented its Stop / Start concepts as well as a new variable valve timing system at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. This technology will reduce emissions of the Alto to 95g/km and Splash to 109g/km. In the longer term, further development includes the eventual introduction of hydrogen fuel cell technology for its medium size vehicles and Suzuki recently tested an SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) on public roads in Japan. To celebrate 100 years of innovation Suzuki is showcasing its history and manufacturing prowess at Suzuki Plaza, a three storey heritage centre in front of its headquarters in Japan. The Plaza is 5,424 square metres in size and visitors can walk through ten decades of evolution of the company right up to the present day.