American Suzuki Motors files chapter 11, will no longer sell cars in the United States Title says it all. I wonder if Mitsubishi is next... not sure their US car arm would go under, but perhaps they'd pull out? From October 2012: Brewing Storm Edition, they don't sell that many cars here either.
Their motorcycle division has not really been doing well in the US either and they actually didn't import several 2011 models due to an abundance of leftovers on dealer floors and warehouses.
Sad to see any automobile competitor go. Less competition means less innovation and higher cost to the consumer. I remember when the Studebaker Motor Company moved to Canada and went defunct.
Some interesting stuff at Suzuki | The Truth About Cars, in particular Suzuki Death Watch 8: A Eulogy Due To Incompetence | The Truth About Cars and Suzuki Death Watch 7: Inside The Horrible Dysfunction At American Suzuki | The Truth About Cars.
I didn't realize they were still in the market. For October 2012 the WSJ reports they sold 310 cars outselling Ferrari (160), Mazerati (248), Bently (222), Rolls Royce (20), and Maybach (1). Tesla is not listed but they had to have had sales in October. Anyway, all of these manufacturers just moved up one space. I don't know the quality of the American employees of Suzuki so I can't comment on whether or not any of the described treatment was deserved. However, antagonizing employees in a country with excess labor to the point of retaliation is a significant achievement. From the comments on death watch 7: "Wasn’t too long ago that there was a story right here about an organized ransacking of a Suzuki factory in India, by the employees. I said then and I’ll say again that something like that doesn’t happen unless the company is in an EXTREMELY adversarial relationship with their employees."
On the above fire, I remember seeing about it on TTAC. It wasn't this article but another: Suzuki Workers Burn Factory, Manager Killed | The Truth About Cars. Here's some more... Suzuki To Open Indian Plant With Two Guards For Every Worker | The Truth About Cars Rundown of Indian Press Coverage of Maruti Suzuki Riot & Lockdown: Talk of Conspiracies and Outside Influences | The Truth About Cars Maruti Suzuki Locks Out Workers At Mobbed Factory | The Truth About Cars If relations are THAT bad, I'd hate to trust any cars that come out of that plant.
