Randles

SUZUKI CELEBRATES WITH BOTH SX4 WRCS IN THE POINTS IN
NEW ZEALAND

Suzuki team grabs seven points at Rally New Zealand

The final day of Rally New Zealand took crews to some of the most photographed and talked about stages on the whole World Rally Championship calendar. The Te Hutewai and Whaanga Coast stages go as far west of the rally base in Hamilton as possible – they run along the headland of the Tasman Sea.

Both Suzuki drivers Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson were looking forward to the stages, which are as much a treat for the drivers as they are for the spectators. And they turned out to be a fitting setting for Suzuki’s best World Rally Championship finish yet, with Andersson climbing the leaderboard through the final day to sixth and his team-mate Gardemeister finishing just one place further back in seventh place. It was no wonder the drivers received such a rapturous welcome back into Hamilton from the local Kiwi fans and everybody in the Suzuki World Rally Team. A trouble-free run to seven points on one of the toughest rallies in the world was the perfect result for everybody.

Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: “As you can imagine, I’m pretty delighted with the way things have gone. This is a great payback for all the incredible hard work everybody in the team has put in. We have all worked tirelessly towards seeing the Suzuki SX4 WRC show this kind of reliability and pace. There’s more to come, but for now we’re all just going to enjoy this result. Fantastic!”

SUZUKI AT THE MONDIAL DE L’AUTOMOBILE IN PARIS
WORLD PREMIERE FOR ALL-NEW GENERATION OF ALTO
New Suzuki Alto offers eco-friendly and enjoyable motorin
The all-new Alto builds on the strengths of Suzuki’s unparalleled knowledge of small-car development. It combines eye-catching style and easy urban mobility with great performance in terms of high fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions. The new compact car offers light weight achieved through downsizing yet provides ample interior roominess and comfort. For the compact body, Suzuki designers tailored a stylish, sporty and youthful look that simultaneously exudes solidity and urban energy. It is perfectly matched to European tastes and supports a low drag coefficient. With overall higher levels of quality, comfort, and safety, the all-new Alto is a response to the needs of today’s motorists.

Fuel cell models with high environmental compatibility
Suzuki seeks to further strengthen the environmentally conscious advantages of its products and aims for further reductions of their impact on the global environment. One way to achieve this is fuel cell technology. The latest two fuel-cell models will be exhibited in Paris: the first is the SX4 FCV and is equipped with a GM-made high-performance fuel cell stack, a Suzuki-developed 70MPa hydrogen tank, and a light, compact capacitor. The second is the “crosscage” that features a simple, compact, and lightweight air-cooled fuel-cell power system from British specialist company Intelligent Energy, plus a high-performance lithium-ion secondary battery.

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SUZUKI RECEIVES APPROVAL TO TEST NEW SX4-FCV FUEL CELL VEHICLE ON PUBLIC ROADS
                       
Suzuki Motor Corporation has developed a compact fuel cell vehicle based on the  SX4 model and has received approval from Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to test it on public roads.

Suzuki has been developing fuel cell vehicles in partnership with General Motors (GM) since 2001. So far, it has tested three fuel cell mini vehicles on public roads with ministerial approval: the MR Wagon-FCV and Wagon R-FCV in October 2003 and the MR Wagon-FCV again in December 2004.

The SX4-FCV delivers superior running performance by means of a GM-made high-performance fuel cell, a Suzuki-developed 70MPa hydrogen tank, and a light, compact capacitor that recovers energy during brake application and uses it to reduce fuel cell loading during acceleration. Suzuki plans to test the SX4-FCV on public roads in Japan and use the results in development aimed at future commercialisation.

As part of its support for the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, which begins on 7 July, Suzuki will show the SX4-FCV in the Environmental Showcase exhibition and demonstration area at the summit’s International Media Centre.

SUZUKI JOINS FORCES WITH DISNEY PIXAR FOR WALL-E FILM

Suzuki GB PLC is embarking on a joint partnership promotion with Disney Pixar for its latest animated creation – WALL-E – which goes on general release on 18 July.

The partnership enables Suzuki to collaborate and create awareness with another global brand which has similar values such as honesty, fun and excitement but most importantly links itself with younger people and families; two of Suzuki’s target groups. In true Pixar fashion, the film appeals to both Children and Adults alike.

The film is set 700 years into the future and WALL-E, (full name Waste Allocation Load Lifter–Earth) is a lone robot roaming around the planet. For hundreds of years WALL-E  has had the mammoth task of cleaning up after humans destroyed the Earth with rubbish.

One day EVE comes down from a spaceship to find out how WALL-E is doing, he falls in love with her and travels back to the spaceship, making a ‘Swift’ exit and leaving Earth behind – for a while.

The film recently opened in the US and went straight to the number one spot with box office ratings of more than 62 million dollars to date.

In the UK, Suzuki is now running a major campaign and utilising the strong brand attributes of Disney Pixar to help generate further awareness of its stylish and fun-to-own range of cars.

As part of the campaign, cinema tickets to see WALL-E are available as prizes by taking a test drive of any new Suzuki at any participating dealer.

However, a much bigger prize draw is on offer which is the chance to win a space themed family holiday for four to Florida. This trip includes four star accommodation in Orlando, entry to two theme parks, a trip to Kennedy Space Centre with the chance to see a shuttle launch (subject to timings), car hire and 1000 dollars spending money. To enter, simply visit any Suzuki dealer to complete the entry form or go online at www.suzuki.co.uk/walle

All 151 Suzuki dealers will host their own promotional events over the weekend of 19 and 20 July and there will also be a WALL-E promotion on the Suzuki stand at the British International Motor Show from 22 July until 3 August. There will be large screens showing clips from the film as well as a special bench for photographic opportunities with the star. Suzuki is exhibiting for the first time at the show and will be on stand N27.  

Suzuki to Show Concept for Fifth World Strategic Model in New Delhi

Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) is pursuing a world strategy designed for long-term growth. Following the launch of its acclaimed fourth world strategic model, the Splash, at the 2007 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, the company is developing the fifth exciting model in its strategy. It will be showing some of the forthcoming model’s design themes at Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi (9-17 January) in the form of the Concept A-Star.

The new model is an A-segment five-door hatchback reflecting a focus on world-class environmental compatibility and comfort. It will have an all new Euro 5-compliant 1.0-litre aluminium petrol engine with CO₂ emissions lower than those of European competitors (target: lower than 109g/km). And like all new Suzuki world strategic models, it will prove that sporty and exciting performance can be enjoyed together with outstanding fuel economy.

SMC attaches great importance to India. Suzuki’s efforts have greatly contributed to the Indian motor industry’s development and have earned Suzuki more than a 50% share of the market there for passenger cars.

Having been early to recognize India’s potential, Suzuki partnered with the Government of India to establish Maruti Udyog Limited (now named Maruti Suzuki India Limited, and an SMC subsidiary) whose Gurgaon plant began producing cars in December 1983.

The production model of the Concept A-Star will be manufactured at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant, and will be marketed mainly in Europe and other countries including India. Production is scheduled to start in October 2008. 

The new 1.0-litre aluminium engine will be produced by Maruti Suzuki India, and a manual transmission for it will be manufactured by Suzuki Powertrain India, another SMC subsidiary that’s based beside Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant.

Suzuki Powertrain India also produces a 1.3-litre diesel engine, but SMC does not plan to use it in the new production car as the new 1.0-litre petrol engine is environmentally superior. SMC is studying options for small diesel engines for production by Suzuki Powertrain India in the future.

Given the importance of India to the Suzuki world strategy, the Corporation is investing substantially in Maruti Suzuki between 2007-2009. It plans to expand production capacity to 960,000 units per year by March 2010.

Concept A-Star is the first concept car in which designers from Maruti Suzuki India’s research and development division have been involved from the initial stage of its styling. As such it is an excellent showcase of Maruti Suzuki India’s capabilities.