Osamu Suzuki, the driving force behind Japan’s Suzuki Motor and a key figure in turning India into a booming automotive market, has passed away at the age of 94. He died on Christmas Day after a battle with lymphoma, the company confirmed.
Suzuki’s leadership of Suzuki Motor spanned over four decades. Under his guidance, the company moved beyond its core market of small, inexpensive Japanese cars and expanded globally. His ability to make cost-saving decisions, such as lowering factory ceilings and flying economy class, became legendary. Suzuki’s thriftiness shaped the company’s culture and contributed to its long-term success.
His legacy is especially evident in India, where Suzuki transformed the country’s car industry. When he took over as CEO, India’s car market was underdeveloped, with annual sales below 40,000. But Suzuki saw potential in the country, leading a bold move to invest an entire year’s worth of earnings into creating a national car manufacturer.
His vision for India was simple but powerful – to build an affordable, reliable car that could compete on a global scale.
In the 1980s, Suzuki partnered with India’s Maruti, a company founded as a government initiative to produce a “people’s car.” At the time, Maruti needed a foreign partner, and Suzuki saw an opportunity. While other brands turned down Maruti, Suzuki’s partnership proved to be the breakthrough the Indian automotive market needed. Suzuki’s decision to invest in Maruti led to the creation of the Maruti 800, a model that became iconic in India and helped revolutionize the country’s car culture.
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