SUZUKI PART FINDER

Never a Dull Moment

The Suzuki company was founded in 1909 by Michio Suzuki and the company originally produced weaving looms. They eventually expanded to first produce motorcycles and later began manufacturing cars under the name Suzuki Motor Company, Limited.

Suzuki's First Car

In 1955 Suzuki presented the Suzulight. It was the first mass produced vehicle by Suzuki and was available in Japan. It included revolutionary features like rack and pinion steering and independent suspension. Suzuki was continuing to mainly focus on their highly popular motorcycles at this point and opened a direct import dealership in the United States in 1963. The development of their cars was set behind not only their motorcycles but also new off-road vehicles including the first four-wheel ATV. Car production did continue though and Suzuki offered its first van in 1968. The Suzuki Alto, which was a subcompact model, was introduced in 1979 and has been in production ever since.

Suzuki Enters the United States

Suzuki began manufacturing cars in the U.S. under an agreement with General Motors. The agreement was one were Suzuki models would be rebadged and sold under the Chevrolet brand in the U.S. The first model under this agreement came out in 1985. Known as the Suzuki Cultus, it was sold in the U.S. as the Chevrolet Sprint. A year later Suzuki produced the Samurai. Eventually Suzuki began producing cars under the Suzuki name and the jeep-like SUV Samurai proved very popular. Suzuki cars outpaced other Japanese entrants to the American market with strong sales right from the start.

Suzuki in the 1980s and 1990s

Suzuki produced other populars models throughout the '80s and '90s including the Sidekick which became one of Suzuki's best selling and most recognizable model. Most of Suzuki's vehicles were brought to the United States after proving themselves in the Japanese market first. Other models included the Suzuki Swift and Geo Metro. As time went on the brand's lineup was upgraded with the two door Suzuki X-90 and a new model named the Suzuki Vitara that replaced the Sidekick. Suzuki has continued on producing vehicles like the SX4 Crossover which features all-wheel drive, a more upscale SUV known as the XL7 and both an extended cab and crew cab truck known as the Equator.