Suzuki, a brand that is always customer-friendly

A brand that wants to be a protagonist on the market needs to understand the needs of its customers and to supply them with products in line with their needs.
“Suzuki’s DNA has always been to help customers and potential customers live better, through products that seek to combine the satisfaction of needs with accessibility – explained Massimo Nalli, president of Suzuki Italia – and by accessibility I mean not only price positioning, but also product typology.Compact cars, for example, which are so much appreciated in Italy for their agility in traffic, are disappearing from competitors’ price lists because it is not easy to design them: they must be light, complete, technologically state-of-the-art, yet compact”.
Observing the general offer, there aren’t many proposals to choose from among the city cars. “In segment A, where there are few cars other than the Fiat Panda – continues Nalli – there is a very modern car from Suzuki called the Ignis.
Suzuki has therefore continued in the direction of compact cars, equipping them with great equipment such as the Suzuki Hybrid system which helps to consume little and reduce CO2″.
In addition to electrification, however, today the most desired cars are connected and safe ones. “We were the first to invest in connectivity for segments A and B, and we continue to supply it as standard across the entire range – adds Nalli – and with Suzuki Connect, an App currently only available on the S-Cross, the phone interacts with the car’s systems.
With regard to safety, in addition to the four-wheel drive present on the entire range, with the exception of the Swace, we have second-level assisted driving systems on all models, even on segments A and B, which we have named in a hopefully understandable way (careful brake , drive straight, stay awake, watch your back, go ahead, and watch the limit)”.
However, technology often goes hand in hand with style, which remains a fundamental element in the choice. “The design of the brand has improved thanks to the Turin style center which created the new S-Cross and which serves Suzuki all over the world”.
A world that in the automotive sector has suffered from a shortage of components in the recent past, a price also paid by Suzuki. “2022 was a terrible year where we suffered from a shortage of electronic components – says Nalli – so 2023 will certainly bring an improvement: we have seen it in this first glimpse of 2023 where Suzuki has grown by over 13% so far ; however, the problem is being resolved with reduced delivery times”.
The future, on the other hand, will also be electric for Suzuki. “Suzuki will be ready, indeed it is already ready – indicates Nalli – because the first electric vehicle, which appeared in the form of a concept at the Auto Expò in New Delhi, we will see it in 2025, will be a 4-wheel drive SUV, therefore with the DNA of the brand name”.
But the electric car cannot be the only solution. “Suzuki has no doubts about the fact that mobility must come to terms with the environment – adds Nalli – that the solution is the battery-powered electric car, however it has some perplexities for 3 reasons. The first is the price, the cars until proven otherwise, they cost a lot. The second is the autonomy, the capacity of the batteries to offer high mileage. As long as the customer has the alternative of having a car that has hundreds of km of autonomy, he doesn’t go looking for one situation of discomfort. The third are the columns, because even with a low autonomy it could be remedied with recharging points scattered throughout the territory, but you are not sure of finding the columns when you actually need them”.
All these aspects make the transition to electric cars complex from a practical point of view. “Suzuki is investing in many directions, including biofuels, because in India, where we have about 50% of the market share, it is important to use fuels that do not emit Co2, or with very low Co2. Furthermore, we are also working on hydrogen and we see the hydrogen as a possibility of true sustainability, because – concludes Nalli – electricity will be the future but it must be introduced in a reasonable way”.