Suzuki foresees rebound in Europe

Suzuki will launch a new model every year for the next three years to increase annual vehicle sales in its European markets by about 100,000 units to 300,000 by 2016.

The Japanese automaker is struggling to reverse falling European volume and has not posted a profit in the region since 2008.

New models such as the SX4 S-Cross compact crossover and a production version of the iV-4 subcompact concept that was unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in September will help the automaker, Executive Vice President Toshihiro Suzuki said.

"We will work hard to reach the target of 300,000 cars a year by 2016 and to strengthen our sales activities," he told Automotive News Europe.

Last year, Suzuki's sales in its 35 European markets, which include Russia and Turkey, fell by 13 percent to 202,000.

Toshihiro Suzuki expects the automaker's 2013 European sales to match last year's performance despite a slow start this year because of a lack of fresh product.

Suzuki's European lineup currently includes the Alto, Splash, Swift, SX4, SX4 S-Cross, Kizashi, Jimny, and Grand Vitara. The automaker's best-seller in Europe is the Swift with sales of 40,649 in first nine months, according to JATO Dynamics.

Suzuki will renew its Alto minicar within the next few years but the company did not disclose a timeline for the new generation's launch.

The SX4 S-Cross, which is a rival to crossovers such as the Nissan Qashqai, joins the automaker's mainstream products that have front-wheel-drive versions while the production iV-4 will have standard four-wheel drive and will target Suzuki's traditionally strong customer base of off-road enthusiasts.

Suzuki will build 100,000 units of the SX4 S-Cross at its factory in Hungary, the company said in a press release on Sept. 6. The company expects annual European sales of 85,000 units a year for the model. The remaining production will be exported to markets such as Asia and Latin America.

Off-road focus

The automaker will launch a production version of the iV-4 subcompact SUV in Europe in 2015. Suzuki has not yet revealed the iV-4's production name or disclosed sales forecasts. IHS Automotive expects Suzuki to sell about 23,000 units in 2016 in Europe and 27,000 in 2017.

Suzuki hopes the production iV-4's off-road capabilities will attract buyers in a segment that has become increasingly crowded since models such as the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 went on sale.

The concept's iV-4 designation stands for "individuality vehicle 4WD" referring to the fact that the production car will have standard four-wheel drive. The iV-4 will join Suzuki's lineup of off-road vehicles that includes the Jimny and Vitara.

Suzuki executive Takehito Arai, who was responsible for the iV-4's design, said the concept was created with Europe in mind. The production model will be very close to the concept, he said. The production iV-4 will be built at Suzuki's Hungary factory alongside the SX4 S-Cross, SX4, Swift and Splash models. Suzuki has not yet decided whether the iV-4 will be sold outside Europe.

Suzuki's vehicle sales in the EU and EFTA were down 8 percent to 113,194 in the first nine months, according to industry association ACEA. Last year, the automaker's EU and EFTA sales fell 13 percent to 154,446.

IHS Automotive analyst Ian Fletcher backed the predictions for a sales rebound for the automaker. "We are expecting Suzuki's European sales to pick up in 2016 as new models are launched and the market as a whole generally improves. However, Europe will remain a tiny part of Suzuki global footprint, given its focus on fast-growth markets and its operations in India," Fletcher said.

India accounts for about 40 percent of Suzuki's global volume. The company pulled out of the U.S. market, where it had a share of just 0.2 percent, at the end of last year.

Toshihiro Suzuki said he expects the automaker's global sales to be flat at 2.7 million this year compared with 2012.

Bloomberg contributed to this report