Update: Suzuki to pull out of U.S. car market, three area dealerships ...

Suzuki Motor Corp. will pull out of the U.S. car market after almost three decades, following Saab and Isuzu among automakers making their exits after failing to earn profits here.

Suzuki will stop the sale of new automobiles in the U.S., though it will continue offering motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and boat motors, the Japan-based carmaker said in a statement Tuesday. The company?s U.S. distributor ? American Suzuki Motor ? filed for bankruptcy protection in Santa Ana, Calif., as part of the automaker?s reorganization. Suzuki will retain dealerships to sell remaining new-car inventory, maintain existing vehicles, and honor manufacturers? warranties. Regulations require Suzuki to continue to provide customer support in the U.S. for 10 years. There are three Suzuki dealerships in the Kansas City area ? Jeremy Franklin Suzuki, Northtowne Suzuki and Pride Suzuki. ?The American automotive market is more competitive than ever at a difficult time in the economic recovery, so Suzuki?s decision is not entirely a surprise,? said Jeremy Franklin, president and owner of the Suzuki dealership and Jeremy Franklin Used Car Network. Franklin said his used car dealership will remain open ?while we consider options to serve buyers who wish to purchase newly manufactured vehicles.?Matt Buek, finance director at Pride Suzuki in Olathe, said his dealership is also ?still selling Suzuki?s. It?s business as usual.? Northtowne Suzuki has been selling the brand for nearly 20 years, and ?we?re sad to see Suzuki go,? said Larry LeFever the owner of Northtowne Automotive Group, which sells seven automobile brands.?This is not unlike Saab, Hummer and Isuzu,? LeFever said. ?The U.S. market is the toughest market on the planet.?Because LeFever sells mulitple brands, he said the loss of Suzuki won?t hurt his business or his employees. Suzuki?s withdrawal marks the end of a business that began in 1985 and never managed to win over U.S. consumers as Toyota and Honda did. The move allows Suzuki, which has the smallest U.S. market share among Asian automakers, to focus on defending its lead in India, where the company is facing mounting competition from Hyundai. ?Suzuki is no longer among the carmakers like Toyota or Honda to have an advantageous position in the U.S., so why not focus on what it is good at?? said Satoshi Yuzaki, Tokyo-based general manager at Takagi Securities Co. ?It makes sense for Suzuki to focus on India and other Asian markets.? Suzuki?s sales in the U.S. will stop after its current inventory runs out, a company spokesman said. American Suzuki Motor, the U.S. distribution unit, listed $346 million of debt and $233 million in assets as of Sept. 30, according to bankruptcy filings. American Suzuki Financial Services, owed $891,000, is listed as the largest creditor without collateral backing its claim, according to court filings Monday. Suzuki?s sales in the U.S. during the first 10 months of the year fell 4.7 percent to 21,188 vehicles, giving it a market share of 0.2 percent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. By comparison, Toyota?s share was 14.4 percent. The departure will leave Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as the smallest Japanese automaker selling vehicles in the U.S. Mitsubishi?s sales this year have fallen 29 percent to 50,103, reducing its market share to 0.4 percent from 0.7 percent, according to Autodata. Suzuki entered the U.S. in 1985 with the Samurai compact sport utility vehicle. A year later, it agreed to form a joint venture with General Motors Canada to produce cars at a factory in Ingersoll, Ontario. Production at the venture called Cami Automotive Inc. began in 1989. Sales of the Samurai plummeted after Consumer Reports magazine in 1988 said that the model was likely to roll over during accident-avoidance tests. Suzuki sued Consumers Union, the magazine?s publisher in 1996, and settled the suit in 2004. After its best-ever year in the U.S. in 2007, when it sold 102,000 vehicles, Suzuki dissolved its Canadian venture with GM in 2009, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that roiled markets worldwide. Suzuki has been importing its cars from Japan since then. The Star?s Steve Rosen and Bloomberg News contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/06/3903309/suzuki-to-pull-out-of-us-car-market.html

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