American Suzuki Motor Corporation Realigns Organizational Structure to Accommodate Five-Year Growth Plans


DETROIT, Mich. - (Jan. 5, 2004) - American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) has realigned the organizational structure of its headquarters in Brea, Calif. to facilitate a five-year growth plan aimed at tripling Suzuki's U.S. auto business by 2007. The realignment, effective January 1, 2004, decentralizes and strengthens certain elements of Suzuki's U.S. operations in order to offer the level of support, resources, independence and flexibility necessary to meet the most aggressive U.S. growth goals in company history and accelerate the company's dealer-development efforts to attain 600 dealers by 2005. In March 2003, ASMC unveiled a five-year plan to triple its automotive sales to 200,000 vehicles by 2007. Two new models - the Verona midsize sedan and Forenza premium compact sedan - debuted last year and were met by very favorable industry and public response.

Three Distinct Operational Units Under the new structure, ASMC is split into three distinct operational units - Automotive, Motorcycle/Marine, and Corporate Operations. President Rick Suzuki will become president of Corporate Operations, which will work across all operations to support the needs of ASMC's two product business units. Koichi Suzuki, assistant to Rick for five years and instrumental in the rollout of ASMC's five-year growth plan, will assume the role of president of Automotive Operations.

Masaaki Kato, assistant to Rick for two years on the motorcycle/ATV side, becomes president of Motorcycle/Marine Operations. All three ASMC presidents will report to ASMC Chairman Sokichi Nakano and Vice Chairmen Hirotaka Ono and Motoo Murakami, who are based in Japan. Strengthened Dealer Development As part of the realignment and increased focus on decentralized operations, ASMC will strengthen its field organization to allow for more frequent interaction, communication and relationships with the Suzuki dealer body. Key to this process is the integration of sales, service and parts functions under one leadership umbrella. In addition, as an outgrowth of its strategic alliance with GM, (which includes a joint investment in GMDAT, and retail finance service through NUVELL, a 100 percent subsidiary of GMAC), ASMC will begin working directly with a senior-level dealer-development consultant to help grow the Suzuki dealer network. Retired GM executive and dealer-development expert Ron Sobrero will bring 42 years of GM experience to his new role as ASMC vice president of dealer development. "When combined with Suzuki Square, our system-wide retail image program initiated last year, this increase in vital resources for new dealer-recruitment efforts will result in a reinforced and committed dealer body better able to meet the increasing demand for our growing line of value-packed cars and SUVs," explained Koichi Suzuki, president of Automotive Operations, American Suzuki.


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What ASMC needs to do now is design a 21st Century LJ model, both hardtop and convertible for the US market. Come on, America is buying the rejuvenated old iron's which are now becoming new all over again.  Toyota should bring back the FJ40!!
Keep it under the masses level, keep it as a simple put together kit, something which will pass US regs, crash tests, etc. (IIRC under certain sales amount per year, all regs are not necessary. Something along the lines of a kit car.)
In the next coming years, side pillow bags will be required and that in a nut shell will kill any fully open convertible vehicle. (Wonder how the cars are going to deal with it.) Some will have to have it designed in the support bars/roll bars, but just how big is the bar going to be to support the roll as well as store the air bag?

I just want an updated, more aggresive look to the Grand Vitara and an all new 4x4 model.

The GMDAT stuff looks nice, but I wonder about qaulity.