Who owns suzuki motorcycles

Suzuki's beginnings is somehow similar to other Japanese automakers as manufacturing automobiles was not the main agenda of Suzuki. With that, here is the history of Suzuki. Suzuki was founded by Michio Suzuki in as a company that manufactures weaving machines. It supplied weaving equipments to fabric manufacturers in Japan. Suzuki continued to manufacture weaving machines up until the mids. In , Suzuki ventured into a new strategy as the company started producing materials for the World War II.

The company is said to have produced vehicle parts, gun assemblies, and armor. However, Japan's economy suffered a major blow after the war and there was little demand for woven products and new looms. As such, this Japanese company started to rethink its business strategy.

In , Suzuki made a big shift as it started to decrease its effort in the weaving industry and began working on motorized vehicles. Five years after, Suzuki introduced the Power Free, a motorized bicycle. The success of the Power Free gave Suzuki the confidence to completely leave the weaving industry. In , the company changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co. Suzuki didn't slow down as it debuted its first passenger sedan dubbed as the Suzulight in Since the founding of Suzuki Motor Corporation, we have always pursued providing "value-packed products" as one of our manufacturing philosophies.

Realizing that the value differs according to the times, country and lifestyle, we are fully determined to challenge for the creativity to make such products for customers around the world with our advanced technologies and enthusiasm. During fiscal the company sold about 1. Suzuki is best known in the United States and Europe as a manufacturer of small, fuel-efficient cars and sport-utility vehicles, as well as powerful motorcycles, although it moved into the midsize car sector during the model year with the introduction of the Verona.

In its home market of Japan, however, the company is the leading maker of "minicars"--a classification almost unknown outside Japan. These tiny automobiles--smaller than American subcompact models--are popular because of the tremendous overcrowding in Japanese cities, where since the early s a larger car cannot be purchased legally until the owner can show proof that he or she has a parking spot. In the market for two-wheeled vehicles, approximately 80 percent of Suzuki's domestic output is mopeds, or motor-driven bicycles; overall, Suzuki holds the number three position in the Japanese motorcycle market, behind Honda and Yamaha Motor Co.

The company also makes marine outboard motors, generators, and water pumps. In addition, through its network of foreign assembly plants, Suzuki is adept at turning out millions of car parts. Suzuki's growth has been predicated on its distinctive domestic and international strategies. Domestically, the company owes its success to its high-quality engines, around which it designs a wide variety of vehicles for special or emerging niche markets. Internationally, Suzuki has traditionally targeted developing countries with growing populations, including Cambodia, India, China, Hungary, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Suzuki's policy in these markets is to find a local partner to sell simple, more affordable vehicles, taking advantage of the small margins on huge volumes of sales. Suzuki also holds majority control of automakers Maruti Udyog Ltd. Indomobil Suzuki International in Indonesia. In the U. While the major automakers battle for leadership in mass markets, Suzuki excels in the quirky niches between jeep and sport-utility vehicle and between compact and subcompact.

Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded by Michio Suzuki in as a manufacturer of weaving machines. From its base in Hamamatsu, the Suzuki Loom Works, as it was then known, supplied weaving equipment to hundreds of small fabrics manufacturers in and between Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagoya.

At the time, textile manufacturing was one of Japan's biggest industries. It provided a growing and stable market for the Suzuki enterprise. Suzuki continued to manufacture weaving machines exclusively throughout the s and until the mids. At that time a militarist clique gained control of the government and began a massive mobilization program called the "quasi-war economy.

Suzuki was an especially attractive supplier because it was in the business of equipping other factories. In addition, the company was located far away from major industrial centers that would become primary bombing targets. By Suzuki had begun production of a variety of war-related materials, which may have included vehicle parts, gun assemblies, and armor.

For its part in Japan's World War II effort, Suzuki, like thousands of other companies, was requisitioned for war production and probably had no intention of becoming a manufacturer of military implements.

Nevertheless, the company continued to manufacture weaving machines for the duration of the war. Fortunately, the Suzuki factory and the city of Hamamatsu escaped the ravages of U. The company was capable of resuming production after the war, but the economy and supply networks were in ruins.

Suzuki reestablished production of textile manufacturing equipment soon after World War II. Japan, however, was so impoverished that there was little demand for new woven products. As a result, few companies could afford to purchase new looms. By the pace of investment continued to be slow, prompting Suzuki to make a major change in its business. That year the company moved to a new headquarters building and, relying on the manufacturing experience it had gained during the war, began design work on motorized vehicles.

The prospects were favorable; Japan was a nation of nearly million people, nearly all of whom lacked access to basic transportation. The heart of the new Suzuki product line was a small 36cc engine that could be used to motorize bicycles. Production of the moped, called the Power Free, began in , prompting Suzuki to abandon weaving equipment entirely. In conjunction with the introduction of the new product line, the company changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co.

Later in , Suzuki graduated from two-wheeled vehicles to a lightweight passenger sedan called the Suzulight, powered by a cc engine. In the process, Suzuki gained valuable experience in developing larger internal combustion engines, vehicle frames, gear systems, and steering mechanisms.

In Suzuki developed an improved moped, named the Suzumoped. The following year it began production of a revolutionary delivery van, much smaller than conventional delivery trucks then in use and more appropriately suited to many motorized businesses. Suzuki banked on the fact that, as its customers' operations grew, so would their needs. Therefore, it would be pointless for the company to squander hard-won loyalty by neglecting to offer its customers a properly diverse product line.

Having gained an important foothold in various sectors of the Japanese vehicle market, Suzuki cleverly used these beachheads for further expansion. The popular delivery van of convinced the company to develop a light truck, called the Suzulight Carry FB, in The single event that gained Suzuki its greatest international recognition, however, occurred the following year, when a Suzuki motorcycle won the 50cc-class Isle of Man race.

It was the first of many victories for Suzuki motorcycles, victories that firmly established the previously unknown company model as a world leader. By , demand for more powerful motorcycles would prompt Suzuki to develop its first line of four-stroke engine motorcycles. This preserved Suzuki's position of leadership in the market. Suzuki had difficulty expanding into domestic automobile markets that were dominated by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.

As a result, it was unable to develop a more sophisticated product line. In its search for growth, Suzuki turned instead to export markets that were in the same economic condition Japan had been in 10 or 15 years earlier. Instead, it will focus on motorcycles, ATVs and marine equipment.

The companies were originally going to work together on fuel efficient cars. VW also saw the partnership as a way of accessing the Indian market for small cars, where Suzuki was the leading brand.

However, thing soon turned sour after a number of disagreements on both sides. The court battle for the shares went on for four years , with Suzuki ultimately triumphant after VW were told to give their stake back to Suzuki. After the war, Suzuki began making clip-on motors for bicycles. A few years later the Diamond Free is introduced, featuring a double-sprocket wheel mechanism and a two-speed transmission.

Suzuki saw continued success in Motor racing, winning the cc World Championship both in and The next time Suzuki won this was in , when Kevin Schwantz won against arch-rival Wayne Rainey — who suffered a career ending injury in that exact race. In , Suzuki decided not to import any Sportbikes to America for the model year due to economic downturn. In , Suzuki Canada Inc announced it too would discontinue its operations in Canada as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. In April the worldwide sales of the Suzuki Swift reached five million.

And that brings us to the present day. Suzuki are still enormously successful, with the likes of the Alto and Swift common sights on roads across the globe. They have numerous subsidiaries all over the world and have a yearly production rate of 2,, automobiles.

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