In the era when automobiles were just popularized, Suzuki's popularity in China was not low, and it even had a fight with Mercedes-Benz. At that time, even children knew about this car, but Benz was associated with money and luxury, while Alto meant cheap and entry-level.
More than a decade ago, there was a game that was popular all over the country, "grabbing parking spaces". The first car is the blue used Alto.
But Alto is only a part of Suzuki-Suzuki is the big dipper of the breadwinner. For cross-country enthusiasts who love life, Suzuki is an exquisite and powerful Jimny; For teenagers obsessed with speed, Suzuki is a falcon with a top speed of 300+km/h.
It's a pity that more than ten years have passed, and Alto has turned a few hands. The Big Dipper has become an electric car, and Jimny is as high as 300,000. The chasing boy has a beer belly. Suzuki also withdrew from China on 20 18, leaving gently like air evaporation, without taking away a cloud, and few people recalled and regretted it.
However, apart from the fuel efficiency scandal, Suzuki has been silent for many years, and there is no unique technology and personality worth remembering.
In such a big market as China, there are so many brands and new cars every year. Besides, consumers like big cars, it is not a pity to have a brand that makes cars.
On the morning of March 15, 2020, Suzuki quietly ushered in the100th anniversary-only in the China market, there were almost no ceremonies and applause.
From knitting to motorcycles
The story begins with a loom.
1909, 22-year-old Suzuki Daoxiong gave his mother the first self-made pedal loom, which was 10 times more efficient than ordinary looms. The invention immediately caught the attention and surprise of the neighbors.
In people's "wow" voice, he realized that innovative inventions that improve efficiency can make the impossible possible, thus creating a series of profits and wealth. In the same year, Suzuki Loom Factory, the predecessor of Suzuki Motor, was established in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Smart Suzuki learned and contacted woodworking skills from childhood, and developed a large number of looms with different functions in a short time, and obtained 120 utility model patents. The company became a leader in the field of looms in the early 1930s.
Only in the middle and late 1930s, due to Japan's support for the establishment of Manchukuo and sanctions from the international community, the export orders of Suzuki loom dropped sharply.
Suzuki knew that only the loom business could not last long. With the development of industrial process, human looms will be eliminated one day. He began to think about the urgent needs of his future life, and finally focused on the internal combustion engine.
1936 They bought an English family car to represent Austin? 7. After some disassembly and research, 1939 produced several prototypes with water-cooled four-cylinder engines.
Unfortunately, after the outbreak of World War II, Japan thought it was meaningless to produce small family cars and mobilized the whole country to contribute to the front line. It is said that Suzuki's factory did not produce munitions for the Japanese army and then dry the loom.
▲ Austin? seven
1945 after Japan surrendered, Suzuki was one of the few companies that was not greatly affected. With the American cotton supply, Suzuki's loom creaked again.
However, in the early 1950s, with the collapse of the global cotton market and the labor dispute of 1950, Suzuki fell into a business dilemma. At this time, Suzuki Daoxiong's son-in-law Suzuki Toshi Utsumi proposed to produce motorcycles.
Japan is in a stage where everything is in ruins. People don't have much money on hand and need cheap and easy-to-use transportation. Others also joined the motorcycle wave early. There are more than 60 motorcycle companies in Hamamatsu alone, and Suzuki is a latecomer.
▲ Suzuki First Motorcycle Power? free
By the way, Hamamatsu used to be a wartime aircraft manufacturing base. There is a local Hamamatsu Higher Industrial School (now the predecessor of Shizuoka University's Engineering Department), which has been cultivating talents for enterprises, not only giving birth to Suzuki, but also the birthplace of Honda and Yamaha.
Suzuki introduced Diamond 1953 in the field of steering motorcycles. Free of charge, I took an active part in the Fuji mountaineering competition and the long-distance race from Sapporo to Kagoshima, both of which won the championship, and started the name of Suzuki, with a monthly sales volume of 6,000 vehicles, and gradually gained a foothold in the highly competitive market.
▲ Suzuki diamond? free
In order not to fall into a passive situation as before, Suzuki Daoxiong insisted on taking the road of cars regardless of internal opposition, and changed its name to "Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd." on 1954.
At that time, with the support of the United States, Japan's economy recovered rapidly and began to lay highways all over the country. In order to stimulate industrial development, the government formulated the "Domestic Car Plan" on 1949, which opened up consumers' demand for cars in view of the fact that ordinary people can't afford big cars and motorcycles don't cost much.
This is the origin of the "K car".
However, the initial requirements are unrealistic, and the four-stroke engine only has a displacement of 0. 15L. After two objections and revisions by car companies, the first edition was officially finalized on April 4, 1955.
Then in June+10, 5438, Suzuki released its first car, Suzulight, known as the first K-Car, which was made by Lloyd? Starting at 400,370 yen.
Two years later, 1957, Daoxiong Suzuki got his wish, retired at the age of 70, handed over the baton to Junsan Suzuki, and returned to his hometown to run the furniture store left by his parents.
▲ Suzulight
Inheritance of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is corporate culture.
In addition to cars and motorcycles, Suzuki's corporate culture also has a son-in-law to take over. The second and third presidents are the first son-in-law, the fourth is the second son-in-law, and the fourth son-in-law is the popular candidate for the seventh term. As a result, he died young and was not considered.
However, this is also the tradition of early Japanese family businesses. Preventing the company from being taken over by others is also conducive to not being shelved after retirement, as Kōnosuke Matsushita and Akio Toyoda did.
Before taking over Suzuki, Junzo Kumar visited the automobile and motorcycle industries in Europe and the United States, with a long-term vision, on the one hand, to modernize management, and on the other hand, to let the world know about Suzuki.
▲ Suzuki Junzo
1958, just as president, he decided to hang "s" on his products as Suzuki's logo, and this brand image has been used ever since.
The best and fastest way for a new Asian car company to gain attention and recognition among its giants is to beat them in the top-level competitions they hold according to their rules.
Therefore, in 1962, Suzuki's army was sent to participate in one of the most dangerous events in the world-TT Island Incident. In the 50cc group, 1962-1964 won three consecutive championships, and won the titles of 1966 and 1967.
Motorist Ito Bofu Mo Ye became the first Japanese to win the championship in TT Isle of Man. 1963, he raised the average speed record of 50cc group to 127KM/H, and gradually established his position as one of the four kings of Japanese motorcycles.
▲ mitsuo ITO
Although Junsan Suzuki continued to work in his father-in-law's car, he obviously put more energy into the motorcycle and was called "the soul of Suzuki motorcycle".
It was he who constantly expanded Suzuki's territory and market-1963, and he established a subsidiary of Suzuki in the United States; 1965, set foot in the field of outboard engines, and has now become a tripartite confrontation with automobiles and motorcycles; 1967, Suzuki established the first overseas motorcycle factory and company in Thailand.
Led by her son-in-law, the symbol "S" entered the world from Asia, but it was her son-in-law osamu suzuki who really expanded Suzuki.
Become the "king of cars"
Osamu suzuki is the person who has been in charge of Suzuki for the longest time except founder Daoxiong Suzuki. During his reign, he did a few simple things.
▲ osamu suzuki
1979, osamu suzuki launched Alto with a price of 470,000 yen in his second year in office, which quickly swept the market at a low price, and won the order of 18000 in the first month of listing.
Alto's minimalist cost has attracted the attention of car companies and become the research object of others' disassembly. At that time, GM Saturn was very surprised by Alto's structure, which indirectly contributed to the cooperation between GM and Suzuki.
The second generation of Alto made Suzuki famous in China. In 1980s, China's industry just started to manufacture cars and motorcycles. At that time, China Ordnance Industry Corporation (the predecessor of China Ordnance Industry Group) sought technical help from Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda and Yamaha, but no one paid attention to it.
You know, in the beginning, cars were built in Chang 'an, Chongqing, Jiangbei, Xiangtan, Jiangnan, Qinchuan and Xi 'an, all of which were military factories, and foreign companies didn't make much profit. It is said that Qinchuan built an Alto, and the copyright fee was only 30 yuan. Only Suzuki is willing to provide the original related technology and production equipment.
Chang' an also successfully realized the conversion from military to civilian because of the "down payment of 18 thousand, Alto drove home" and began the road of making cars in the foggy city.
This is actually related to osamu suzuki's enthusiasm for politics, which will be discussed later.
1993, in the third year of the implementation of the new regulations for k cars, since it is not allowed to lengthen and widen, Suzuki skillfully puts the station wagon? R developed upward and became a square box, known as the "Big Dipper".
The biggest advantage of the Big Dipper is its spacious space, especially the head space. Its vision is not wide, and the big glass has almost no obstacle to the vision, which has quickly become popular in Asia.
During the 38 years from 1973 to 20 1 1, Suzuki has always maintained the number one sales volume in the field of K cars and is a well-deserved "car king".
Deeply cultivate developing countries
Osamu suzuki is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses. Because Suzuki is a small and medium-sized enterprise, it is more realistic to rely on the Asian market than to compete with developed countries and major car companies in Europe and America.
In addition to China's 654.38+0.4 billion people, there are 654.38+0.3 billion people in India and 654.38+0 billion people in Indonesia and the Philippines.
These developing countries are Suzuki's world.
Osamu suzuki once said, "If you have good relations with Asian countries, you are not afraid of business opportunities". Even if you can't make money, you have actively provided technology for the development of automobiles and motorcycles in China. After all, the cooperation is a military enterprise.
Similarly, in the 1980s, with the support of the government, Suzuki and the state-owned enterprise * * * jointly established Maruti Ude Ge You Company (later renamed Maruti Suzuki), and launched the cheap and durable Maruti 800, which almost monopolized the whole market.
▲ Maruti 800
Today's India is similar to post-war Japan and China in the early days of reform and opening up. Its low economic level is developing. People can't afford a good car, only a car.
Suzuki, a clever woman can't cook without rice, occupies half of India and is the largest local automobile manufacturer. India has also surpassed Japan to become Suzuki's largest market.
▲20 19 Maruti Dzire, the best-selling Indian car.
Like Pakistan, the government that needs domestic cars conforms to Suzuki's philosophy, and the whole country supports the establishment of factories. Although the output is not high, it is the first car sales.
Osamu suzuki himself was awarded the Pakistani Supreme Medal and the Indian Lotus Medal.
Looking back on the 1980s, Japanese companies turned their attention to North America and set up factories in the middle of the ocean to enhance their brand image. Suzuki's choice of India was a risky move, which proved to be extremely correct.
It's just that Suzuki Yasunari didn't expect China to develop so fast. It has been almost 12 years since the Swift generation was repaired and sold. There is no need to launch a new car at all, and the brand just quit.
One of the reasons for Suzuki's withdrawal is that the products are not in line with the market and the preferential policies are not in place.
At that time, after the rumor of leaving spread, I went to the 4S store to prepare for the missing Swift. Maybe there was a big discount when the clearance was made. The answer is only 6000 yuan.
Manufacturers don't have a penny sales policy, and dealers only earn the difference between cars. Even if there is a "trade-in", it is only aimed at Vitera, and they have no intention of pushing Swift at all.
Suzuki is not popular in America, which likes big cars. After the two oil crises, General Motors made use of Suzuki's technology to manufacture energy-saving cars, and acquired shares of the other side on a large scale.
However, in 2006, due to the deterioration of financial situation, they were all sold. Kaiser, Suzuki's only "big car", adopted universal platform technology.
In 20 12, the economy gradually recovered, and the turbine found a balance between fuel efficiency and power. Suzuki, without large displacement and high horsepower, announced its withdrawal from the United States.
Suzuki Motor, an American subsidiary, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US federal court. Since then, it has only focused on motorcycles and outboard engines.
Suzuki's constraint
After withdrawing from the world's first and second largest markets, Suzuki did not feel regret and regret. Taking India as the fulcrum, it later opened up Southeast Asia, the Middle East and even Africa. As long as these countries exist on the earth, Suzuki will not be able to close down one day.
This is good and bad. The advantage is that you don't have to compete directly with big car companies, and you are self-sufficient in the field of mini-cars. This is also a different personality from others.
What's more, there are people who are burning money in full swing to develop new energy and driverless. Suzuki's market is not so high-end, and it can make money without technology research and development.
Suzuki is indeed one of the most profitable car companies. In 20 18, it even surpassed BMW to become the most profitable car company.
The disadvantage is that the idea of small farmers is deeply rooted. Once the environment changes, Suzuki, which only has mini-cars, will be unsustainable. Even osamu suzuki knows that the company's survival crisis is about 25 -30 years.
They tried to enter different fields before, once with GM, and once with Volkswagen in 2009, but they broke up in discord, leaving no representative works.
Xiao Ye Hao Xiao, who is most likely to add vitality to Suzuki, a century-old car company, is the head of overseas markets and has promoted the development of two European cars, Swift and Tianyu SX4. He is also the son-in-law of Suzuki Yasunari and the designated heir.
Unfortunately, he died of pancreatic cancer in June 5438+February 2007. At the age of 78, osamu suzuki had to go back to the temple and instill that set of old ideas. He only makes cars for the poor, but he doesn't understand marketing and market demand and can't keep up with the changes of the times.
Over time, mainstream car companies are in the new four modernizations. Suzuki, who is unwilling to develop, guards an acre of land and is easily eliminated by the torrent of history. In other words, India's Tata failed people's expectations, which made Suzuki so arrogant.
Suzuki only knows how to make cheap cars.
Not exactly.
Suzuki is not without skills. Just knowing how to deduct the cost from the car attracted the olive branch of GM and Volkswagen. Jimny, Super Vitera and Fast Wings all have a good reputation, but I don't know if the stunt is true.
For example, on 20 18, Volkswagen pulled the racing car I.D. in order to create momentum for the pure electric family I.D.? R Brush everywhere, and set electric vehicle speed records in Goodwood, newberg Forest, pikes peak Mountaineering Competition and Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie.
As for Suzuki, he used a magic SX4 (only sheathed, not related to the production car) to participate in the Pike Peak Mountain Climbing Competition. Team manager and driver Shinbo Tian won the championship for six consecutive years from 2006 to 20 1 1, and was called "Monster Field".
On this track, the race starts from 19 16. The average altitude is three or four kilometers, ranking the highest in all competitions. On the one hand, the low oxygen content tests the driver, and on the other hand, the engine may lose 30% power. Lean combustion can easily lead to engine overheating.
156 There are almost no guardrails along the bend, and once it is out of control, it will be an abyss with great drop. Before 20 12, at most 75% of the sand and gravel were not paved, and then all of them were paved with asphalt.
95 years later, at 20 1 1 year, Tian Yan drove Suzuki into the 10 minute mark for the first time, but he didn't see any publicity, which was in line with the tonality of Suzuki and osamu suzuki. The cost of car impounding has been built for a long time, and even marketing has become a fuss.
Perhaps a small and medium-sized enterprise can easily lose different voices under the long-term control of one person, and only by waiting for the destruction of external forces can it change the existing situation.
next century
20 15 osamu suzuki stepped down as the seventh president and became the president and CEO of the board of directors. Suzuki was replaced by his eldest son, Jun Hong Suzuki. Suzuki Hong Jun said he couldn't break the company's habits by himself.
20 18, Suzuki exposed fuel consumption fraud, and osamu suzuki apologized; From April, 2065438 to April, 2009, there were illegal operations in the inspection of vehicles in Hamamatsu factory, which caused certain hidden dangers to safety. Suzuki announced the recall of 2 million cars.
At the shareholders' meeting two months later, the re-election support rate of osamu suzuki and Suzuki Hong Jun hit a new low of 10, down by nearly 30 percentage points.
Perhaps Suzuki is brewing a great change that outsiders can't see.
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This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.