WHen you look at tad more closely at these figures, there really isn't much to celebrate. All their lines, save for the Verona, have posted double digit sales decreases. That ain't good especially when you consider the tooling for the GV and XL7 is paid for, the Aerio isn't that long in the market, and the Forenza has no prior YTD comparison.
By all rights, zuke should be moving those Suv's like hotcakes since they've had an opportunity to amortize the development costs to a point to price them very competitively in the market.
The Aerio should be more than holding its own out there. Instead, its getting trounced by the Civic and Corolla and to a lesser extent, Mazda products.
Granted this is only indicative of the NA market however this is, for better or worse, the most lucrative market in the world. If you sandbag it here, good luck surviving elsewhere. Well, ok Peugeot, Fiat, and Lancia are still around but the really heavy hitters are heavy hitters because they succeed very well in the american market.
What gives? Suzuki isn't exactly a newcomer here. Problem is, most still associate this company with motorbikes, outboards, and prefab houses. That's gotta change. And the only way is to get the word out and put some airetime on my boob tube. For a brief burst this summer, I could count on one commercial a day, somewhere. Lately, I haven't seen a one.
Take my new so-called dealer. The rigs are out front, but where in the hell is the zuke sign? Oh, there it is, a tiny banner type flag just over the entrance way. Nice. Really gets your attention. Hell, if I didn't try to schedule with my prior dealer, I'd never know this place sold and "serviced" zukes. (I use the term "service" lightly here, very lightly indeed).
And speaking of dealer base, 500 dealers scattered around hither and yon will not do a damn thing to increase sales. One thing that has and will continue to turn away potential buyers is the lack of market coverage. Last thing I want is an "orphan" vehicle where my closest dealer is a hundred or so miles away. Go with the golden arches approach. Counting waldo world, there are 4 in my piddly ass little W PeeAy town. Ok, 4 dealers is a bit much, but how about some broader coverage? Go where the big boys aren't. Place a nice, professional looking dealership in a growing market. Buy air, radio, and print media. Teach the techs how to work on the rigs you sell. Be honest and stand behind your product. Give the customers what they want and a little more. It worked for Toyota and Honda. Problem is, they grew in the 70's and 80's when there was no Hyundai or Kia to contend with. Nor did Detroit make a serious attempt at building a small car. Thus, unless Japan's big 2 really f'ed up, they could only be successful.
Ok, off soapbox now. I do believe unless zuke gets with the program very soon, they'll pull out (like Daewoo) and that'll be the end of that.
