Suzuki Motorcycle India closes FY19-20 on positive note despite economic slowdown

Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL), the two-wheeler subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, closed the financial year on a positive note, registering a 5.7 percent increase in cumulative sales over FY 2018-2019.

Suzuki Motorcycle India Limited (SMIPL) sold 7,90,397 units from April 2019 to March 2020, whereas it had managed to sell 7,47,506 units in the corresponding period last year. However, the last year (FY2018-2019) performance is still its YoY (year-on-year) best yet—back then it had registered a massive growth of over 30 percent as compared to its sales in FY 2017-2018!

Still, Suzuki has been the only motorcycle manufacturer in India that registered continual growth in FY 2019-2020 despite the economic slowdown and lower production of BSIV vehicles.

Coronavirus impact

However, like everybody else, even Suzuki was affected in March 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown. It could sell only 33,930 units in the domestic market last month before the lockdown. In March 2019, it had sold 58,701 units.

Despite the odds, Suzuki could still grow as the financial year 2018-2019 saw its re-entry into the quarter-liter segment in India with the Gixxer SF 250 and Gixxer 250 motorcycles, which became instant hits. Suzuki had last attempted to crack this segment in 2014, but the expensive Inazuma 250 twin didn't sell as expected. This time around, the manufacturer did its research right and came with products that are better suited to our conditions, offer more features than the competition, and are priced correctly too.

Suzuki best sellers

The Suzuki 250s feature a unique engine that's purely oil-cooled, and not "air- and oil-cooled" (as is the norm with all other oil-cooled motorcycles in India), which is a first for India. Suzuki pioneered oil-cooling in motorcycles in the early 1980s. The world's first air- and the oil-cooled bike was the 1984 Suzuki GSX-R400.

Along with the 250s, Suzuki launched the updated 150s too, which were also received well by the buyers in this segment. The Suzuki Access 125 is also one of its hot sellers and was the first Suzuki model to become BS6 compliant.

Suzuki has a quite a comprehensive product portfolio in India that comprises five small capacity motorcycles—Gixxer SF 250, Gixxer 250, Gixxer SF 150, Gixxer 150, and Intruder; two scooters—Access 125 and Burgman Street; two big bikes—GSX-S750 and V-Strom 650 XT (Hayabusa, GSX-R1000, GSX-S1000, and V-Strom 1000 are discontinued), and three off-road motorcycles (can't be registered for road use)—RM-Z250, RM-Z450, and DR-Z50. The company has completely moved out of the entry-level commuter segment (100-125 cc) of motorcycles.