Among the several more niche manufacturers in the UK car market is Suzuki – the smallest of the major Japanese brands, it sold just over 23,000 cars to UK buyers in 2024. That’s 7,000 fewer than Honda and less than a quarter of the likes of Toyota and Nissan.
Suzuki, however, seems quite happy with its bit part, especially as the car division forms part of a corporation with interests in many sectors – probably best known for its motorcycles but also, for example enjoying a big slice of the marine engine market.
This is also a car maker that makes the most of its particular strengths, not least all-wheel-drive – Suzuki has been making 4x4s since 1970 and while models such as the Vitara have proved perennially popular, even the quirky Ignis small SUV and the Swift supermini have been offered in AWD form and found plenty of fans.
The all-wheel-drive obsession shows no sign of abating into the electric era – Suzuki’s first EV will be the e-Vitara and is being promoted on having all the all-wheel-drive off-road ability of its petrol-engined namesake.
So who or what is Suzuki?
Suzuki was founded not as a motor manufacturer, but a weaving company. It was founded in 1909 in a small Japanese coastal village called Hamamatsu, when Michio Suzuki started making looms for the silk industry, at that time booming in Japan.
After three decades of making looms, Suzuki looked to diversify his company, which would lead to cars and then motorcycles. From 1937, several prototype small cars were built, but the second world war put any production plans on hold as the government considered cars not essential to the war effort.
Suzuki returned to loom making, but a collapse in the cotton market after the war revived the motor vehicle plan – but now addressing demands in Japan for cheap and reliable personal transport.
Suzuki’s first automotive product to go into production was a motorcycle launched in 1952, which was nothing more than a bicycle fitted with a clip-on two-stroke engine that produced only one horsepower. However, a suitably impressed Japanese government subsidised further development and, by 1954, 6,000 motorcycles were emerging every month from the works of what was now Suzuki Motor Co.
The first car followed in 1955, called the Suzulight. It was a compact front-wheel-drive saloon which had independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, three decades before the system became a norm on cars. It proved a big hit, helping to start the Japanese craze for small vehicles and spawning various versions, including trucks.
In 1965, Suzuki expanded into the marine market with outboard motors, where the company has remained highly successful ever since. Further diversification included medical equipment and even pre-fabricated houses.
For car enthusiasts, 1970 marked a pivotal year with the introduction of the LJ10, a mini 4×4 with a 360cc engine – it was soon developed with the more marketable name of Jimny, becoming one of the earliest SUVs and beginning a model history that would attract a cult following.
Suzuki began making cars in Pakistan from 1975, but what would become the most significant move for the company occurred seven years later with a joint venture in India – today, Maruti Suzuki dominates the Indian market.
By this time, US giant General Motors had taken a 5% stake in Suzuki, which also signed an alliance with fellow Japanese maker Isuzu. In 1988, the Vitara SUV made its debut, a model designed for both on and off-road prowess that has since done much to cement Suzuki’s credentials as a manufacturer of all-wheel-drive vehicles.
By the end of the 1980s, Suzuki was making ten million vehicles a year and in 1992 began European production, in Hungary. Early in the new millennium General Motors increased its stake to 20% and, while the ensuing years saw the company producing several new car lines, its success was underpinned by its core SUV, the Vitara, and its perennially popular small car, the Swift.
The following decade saw Suzuki continuing to consolidate its worldwide sales, including in the UK. The GM involvement eventually ended so Suzuki signed an alliance with Toyota in 2019, which would lead to the launch of two hybrid models – the Swace and Across, effectively Suzuki-badged versions of the Toyota Corolla and Toyota RAV4.
The company was slow to embrace the move to electric power, however, and in the UK the model range was severely hit by the government’s ZEV mandate, which insists that a certain percentage of a manufacturer’s sales are zero-emission, with fines for each percentage missed.
As a result, several Suzuki models had to be axed in 2024 as the company was not able to sell enough low-emission vehicles to justify their continued existence. These included the Ignis small SUV, the Swift Sport and the Jimny LCV, (the commercial vehicle of the passenger Jimny, which had already been dropped in 2020 due to emissions rules ).
Suzuki’s first all-electric car is called the e Vitara (another joint effort with Toyota and unrelated to the ageing petrol Vitara) which is expected on sale towards the end of 2025.
What models does Suzuki have and what else is coming?
The Suzuki model range has undergone severe pruning in recent times, and currently comprises just four models – the Swift hatchback, Vitara and S-Cross SUVs and the rebadged Toyota RAV4, the Across.
The Swift is Suzuki’s supermini and a nameplate with a long history – the first Swifts were sold in the 1980s – it’s now in its fourth generation and a popular alternative to more mainstream small cars.
Being a Suzuki, an all-wheel-drive Swift remains in the mix, while a Sport variant of the previous model had quite a few fans until tough emissions regulations forced Suzuki to drop it. Ironically, low emissions help the new Swift achieve a New Car Expert Rating of B in The Car Expert’s Expert Rating index, along with its frugal running costs.
The Vitara remains Suzuki’s best-selling model, the small SUV now in its fourth generation, dating way back to 2015 with a major facelift in 2018. Available with petrol or hybrid engines, and with all-wheel-drive an option, it scores on its versatility, practicality and value for money. However, it does not have the quality of fit and finish of rivals, resulting in a New Car Expert Rating of D.
The S-Cross was first launched in 2013 as a larger sister to the Vitara and an all-new version arrived in 2022 with a choice of petrol or hybrid engines – again both are available with all-wheel drive. Opinions of the S-Cross replicate those of the Vitara, earning it a New Car Expert Rating of D – it’s dependable and good value for money with plenty of tech, but its build quality doesn’t come up to rivals.
Finally we have the Across, Suzuki’s only plug-in hybrid and not really a Suzuki at all, as underneath the badge it is simply a Toyota RAV4. As such the mid-sized SUV it offers all the qualities Toyota is known for, helping it to a New Car Expert Rating of B – it’s only available in a range-topping and therefore pricey trim level, though it is slightly cheaper than its Toyota equivalent.
Current Suzuki range on our Expert Rating Index
The next big move for Suzuki will be the arrival before the end of 2025 of the company’s first all-electric model, the e Vitara. This is not a version of the current Vitara but an all-new vehicle and a further result of the tie-up with Toyota, which is launching its own version called the Urban Cruiser.
With a sub £30,000 starting price and a range up to 264 miles, plus being just one of three vehicles in its class offering all-wheel-drive, the e Vitara shoulders much of Suzuki’s hopes for future growth.
What will follow the e Vitara remains to be seen. Suzuki had planned to have four EVs on sale by 2030, including electric versions of core models such as the S-Cross and Swift, but has slowed its plans in the face of uncertainty in the electric market and the arrival of a host of cheap EVs from China.
Where can I try a Suzuki car?
Suzuki may be one of the smaller UK brands in terms of market share, but it has plenty of dealers. Currently, there are 125 outlets spread across the UK, and while they include the major outlets one might find on automotive retail parks, among the network, there are still plenty of smaller, often family-owned groups operating out of town-centre locations – Suzuki’s website includes a dealer finder function.
A Suzuki fact to impress your friends
Suzuki might be considered a somewhat niche manufacturer in the UK, but in India the company is huge. Maruti Suzuki, a direct subsidiary of the Japanese parent company, has more than 40% of the Indian passenger car market – as a comparison, Volkswagen has the UK’s biggest market share at just 8.5%, while even in its home country of Japan Suzuki can only claim around 13% market share.
In a world where car manufacturers have become massive multi-national organisations, Suzuki remains a family firm. Current CEO Toshiro, appointed in 2015, is the sixth Suzuki family member to lead the company.
Summary
Suzuki seldom makes very big headlines, but that seems to be just how the company likes it. Finally catching up with rivals with the launch of its first electric model this year, this brand seems to be quite happy charting its own course, underpinned by vehicles that are competent on the road while retaining the capability to go a long way off it.
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