The FINANCIAL — The renowned Japanese brand Suzuki is expanding to the Georgian market. Suzuki Georgia, the official dealer of Suzuki presented two 2008 models: Suzuki Grand Vitara and Suzuki Alto to Georgian customers last week.
Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles, a full range of motorcycles, All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. Suzuki is the 12th largest automobile manufacturer in the world, employs over 45,000 people, has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries.
The Grand Vitara has 2.7-liter, V6, 24-valve DOHC engine with 185 horsepower, Rugged unibody chassis reinforced with a built-in ladder frame, four-wheel independent suspension, Four-Mode full-time four-wheel-drive system with low range provides credible off-road performance. A standard Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.6cc3 Door 2008 model will cost USD 20 975. Suzuki Alto has a new 1.1-litre 16-valve engine, in fact one of the cleanest in the world (CO2 emissions:119g/km on 5MT model). The Suzuki Alto has 5-speed manual or electronically controlled 3-speed auto transmission (Deluxe). The minimum turning radius of the Alto is one of the smallest in the world, enabling easy parallel parking and u-turns even in heavy city traffic.
Tamuna Gvasalia, general manager of Suzuki representation in Georgia. “Suzuki is widely acknowledged as one of the most economical and fuel-efficient cars in existence. At the same time it is available to people with not very high incomes. It has to be acknowledged that the cars can be obtained through auto loans and leasing. We cooperate with all Georgian banks so that our customers have the opportunity to choose.
When exploring the market in Georgia we came to know that the demand for Suzuki is acute, so our expectations for sales are quite high. Suzuki consumes a much lower amount of petrol compared to other cars, this feature makes it one of the most demanded cars in the world. There is no need to say that Georgia will not be an exception in this regard. Everyone in Georgia with a stable work place and a monthly income of over USD 300 will have no problem in acquiring a Suzuki,” said Gvasalia.
According to Gia Alikhanashvili, president of Suzuki in Georgia, in the first year the company expects to sell approximately 100-120 cars.
“Prices on petrol are rising day by day, so people have realized the advantage of buying fuel-efficient vehicles. We are focusing on several different segment categories. For instance the new swift, which is a bestseller in Europe, is targeted at young people and women, while SX4 is more aimed at the business class,” Alikhanashvili says.
“The new Swift comes with a choice of three comprehensively upgraded engines (1.3-ltre M13A petrol engine, the 1.5-litre M15petrol engine and the 1.3litre DDiS diesel engine) and with a choice of transmissions (a five-speed manual, a five-speed Manual Transmission Automatic and four-speed automatic). The price of a Suzuki Swift 1.5cc 2008 model in Georgia is USD 17 800.
Suzuki SX4 has 16-Valve, 4 cylinder Engine 5 speed Manual Transmissions, 2.0-Liter dual over head cam. 143 horsepower 136 Ft-Lbs of Torque. The price of this model with automatic transmission amounts to USD 21 000, while with mechanic transmission the car will cost USD 19 000.”
All the latest brands of Suzuki will be presented in the Tbilisi auto salon by the beginning of 2008.
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