Things have been going right for Suzuki this last year and not just for Toyota, as the ad always said. It may be no coincidence that the two brands have been working together a lot recently.
The 2023-’24 model year has been really good for Suzuki in SA.
Just last week the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association elected Suzuki Auto as most improved OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and Fleet Aftersales Controller Sarah Burkey as best account executive for 2024. The rental market represents a huge percentage of the new car market locally so its very important to do well in this segment if a brand wants to grow.
At the SA Car of The Year awards the Suzuki Fronx won the the Best Budget and Compact Vehicle category and the Fronx came in second in the overall standings, with the BMW 7-Series taking first place and the high-performance BMW M2 following in third. An amazing result as the Beemers cost a whole lot more.
In February, Suzuki received the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards for the Swift (Best Entry Level Hatch), the Baleno (Best Budget Hatch) and the Suzuki Grand Vitara (Best Entry-level Crossover).
My personal car of the year was the 5-door Jimny. I love the car, warts and all.
Sales have been going very well over at Suzuki too. Of the five top-selling sub-small category cars four are made by Suzuki. Interestingly the Toyota Starlet sells almost as many units as the Suzuki Baleno it is based on, and together they moved 1378 units in September which make it the best selling sub-small car. The Fronx is third in the crossover market. The brand is in a solid third place in SA with almost 16% market share, growing steadily.
The product portfolio of Suzuki auto covers the small end of the market exceptionally well with 15 models to choose from.
On the commercial side Suzuki offers the small (and I mean small) panel van the Eeco and the related Super Carry ¾ ton bakkie. They also have the seven-seater microbus the Ertiga.
Their serious off-roader is the Jimny in either three-door or five-door guise.
Suzuki offers two crossovers, The Baleno sized Fronx and the Grand Vitara, not to be confused with previous models which were larger and in the case of the first generation much more capable.
Ciaz is the flagship sedan. It reminds one of the Honda Ballade and Civic. A comfortable four seater with a boot. The small sedan is the Dzire.
On the family side of things the XL6 is a ‘gentrified’ Ertiga with two captain’s chairs in the middle row instead of a bench seat. Baleno and Swift are at the centre of the Suzuki product line, both offering comfort and style. The Swift is more compact and compares to a Polo Vivo more or less. The Swift Sport is the sportiest Suzuki and is also the car designed for fun and a better, more involved driving experience.
The sub-small or entry level cars from Suzuki include Ignis, which looks like a crossover, the Celerio city car and then the smallest of them all, the Spresso, a very affordable runabout.
If you are in the market for a smaller car a visit to Suzuki may be worth your while, the literally have something for everyone.
