American Suzuki announced late yesterday that it is filing for bankruptcy and will withdraw from the U.S. market. Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell offers the following reaction:
“No one should be surprised by this announcement, given Suzuki’s lackluster sales performance in recent years. The company has had low margins, low-priced cars, and small volume – which is far from the ideal combination. And unlike with exotic or luxury brands, it’s nearly impossible over the long term to sustain a brand on such little volume when you don’t have a healthy margin.”
So far year to date, Suzuki has sold just over 21,000 new cars in the U.S., making it the third worst performing non-luxury brand (behind Saab and smart). But with Suzuki exiting the U.S. market, the race will be on for automakers to appeal to Suzuki loyalists. According to Edmunds.com’s cross-shopping metrics, Kia and Nissan are the two brands most shopped against Suzuki vehicles on our site.
More Suzuki data can be found in Edmunds.com’s Data Center at http://www.edmunds.com/
