Why Suzuki USA Needs GM Daewoo

[Ming]

There have been some longstanding rumors regarding Suzuki USA dropping its rebranding relationship with GM Daewoo who provides them with the Forenza/Reno/Forenza Wagon.

Not only are these cars the best-sellers for Suzuki USA, but they have moved beyond the initial reaction of "those Daewoos!" and are now behind a fanbase of the company in this country.

While the SX4 is a great value, and a sedan version would be a good addition to the lineup - the difference in size is very noticeable. The Swift or SX4 cannot effectively replace the Forenza/Lacetti, in size, sales numbers, or support. Its similar in nature to the Aerio, and the Aerio never got the same level of support from Suzuki USA buyers as the Forenza/Reno have.

Example from Suzuki-Forums.com, a Suzuki fan forum that has been around for some years now ---- note the posts and views to each section:

[DanCBJMS1988]

If that's true, they why does Suzuki always complain that the GMDATs always lower down their quality scores? That coupled with stories in this forum about Suzuki developing their own full-size lineup sans Daewoo confirms more and more that Suzuki really wants to get out of GMDAT fast.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by DanCBJMS1988

If that's true, they why does Suzuki always complain that the GMDATs always lower down their quality scores? That coupled with stories in this forum about Suzuki developing their own full-size lineup sans Daewoo confirms more and more that Suzuki really wants to get out of GMDAT fast.

If and when Suzuki develops a mid-sizer and can manufacture at least 4,000 units a month for export to the U.S., I can see them making the change.

Right now that's all just pie-in-the-sky.

I also think the Daewoo quality thing a year or two back was mostly an easy scapegoat. Suzuki's JD Power quality numbers were not much different than they were before they started selling the Daewoos. Unless there was a dramatic increase in their own manufactured car quality within a year and the Daewoos dragged that down, that is.

It was a bit uncalled for as well, considering Suzuki had (or was about to send) its engineers in Korea pointing out problem spots.

Like Dell saying "Hey, its a Sony battery, not our fault it blew up", this kind of thing is frowned upon in the industry. If you take on a rebadging project or intend to use another company's parts, you don't call them out in public like that. When Suzuki signed on with ailing Daewoo to rebadge their products, they should have known full well that they would have to deal with the cars, warts and all.

[SonicAerio]

The Suzuki Aerio never got the chance or publicity that the Forenza recieved....when the Aerio debut commercials aired maybe for the first 4 months sparingly on no name or local channels and from that point on, no other attempts were made to show or sell the Aerio in the Suzuki portfolio.

The Forenza on the other hand started out with great buzz and continues to share the limelight even with the new XL-7 and GV adds....

I'm sorry but people will not buy a vehicle that the company won't even try to sell....sadly...the Aerio fell into the shadows becoming the black sheep of NA operations despite fairing well in reviews and having a small following

The sedan version of the Sx4 looks to be about the size of the current Forenza/Aerio and if Suzuki persists it could easily drop it in to take over for the current Forenza. The only problem I can see is the design- as like most true Suzukis its not really conservative when it comes to styling and like the Aerio is quirky.

For Suzuki to succeed they need to stand behind the products and carve out a niche to show quirky = cool...kinda like what Scion has done

**Edit**

I also know that the dealerships pushed more Forenzas on customers or atleast the main dealerhip in my area did. The base GMDATS were a little cheaper and had more on rebates(due to lower true cost) and created more room to hagle with customers looking to get into their first car or coming from a low income. The Aerios on the other hand are very close to true price the dealer pays so money made off a sale wasn't equal to that of their GMDAT cousins

[AG3]

Originally Posted by Ming

If and when Suzuki develops a mid-sizer and can manufacture at least 4,000 units a month for export to the U.S., I can see them making the change.

That reminds me, wasn't there an article before that mentions Suzuki's future mid-size sedan(Verona repalcement?) could be based on a Nissan platform.

In the meantime, in Japan Suzuki has a new minivan(Suzuki Landy) which is basically a rebadged JDM Nissan Serena.
JDM Suzuki Landy

JDM Nissan Serena

[Ming]

Originally Posted by SonicAerio

The Suzuki Aerio never got the chance or publicity that the Forenza recieved....when the Aerio debut commercials aired maybe for the first 4 months sparingly on no name or local channels and from that point on, no other attempts were made to show or sell the Aerio in the Suzuki portfolio.

I didn't follow the Aerio closely, but I imagine that one of the reasons Suzuki didn't push it might have been similar to the quandry it is in with the SX4. It couldn't produce enough. Suzuki is straining to meet worldwide demand for its cars, and until that changes, the song will remain the same - and Suzuki will either keep using GMDAT, or see a huge sales dropoff in the U.S. And for what? Some purist ideology? 5 points better on JD Power Surveys? It only makes sense to me that Suzuki USA would keep using GMDAT's resources until it has built a few more factories and has a reasonably spacious sedan of its own to sell.