Mitsubishi Motors In Talks with Suzuki towards OEM Supply of a Minicar-class Light Commercial Electric Vehicle

Mitsubishi Motors In Talks with Suzuki towards OEM Supply of a Minicar-class Light Commercial Electric Vehicle

Tokyo, November 22, 2011 - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced it is in talks with Suzuki Motor Corporation (Suzuki) towards OEM supply of a minicar-class light commercial electric vehicle (based on the MINICAB-MiEV).

MMC and Suzuki are currently working on details; however plans are for initial supply to Suzuki to begin in February 2012, building up to full-scale supply in the 2012 fiscal year.

The talks towards an agreement are intended to increase economies of scale for MMC which will in turn contribute to lower production costs and increased productivity.

Mitsubishi Motors Launches Delica D:2 New Compact Minivan [JP]

Mitsubishi Motors Launches Delica D:2 New Compact Minivan

Tokyo, February 24, 2011 - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced today the launch of its all-new compact minivan Delica D:2. It achieves compact body yet having roomy interior space, as well as it features many convenient essences such as sliding rear doors on both sides and various seating arrangements. This Delica D:2 uses a fuel-efficient 1.2L engine mated to CVT, with all models eligible for Japanese domestic eco-car tax reduction of 75%. Delica D:2 goes on sale at affiliated dealerships throughout Japan from March 10, 2011, carrying a tax-inclusive price tag ranging from ¥1,393,000 to ¥1,779,000.

Mitsubishi Delica D:2

The product basis of this new Delica D:2 are "spacious", "convenience", and "eco". It will be placed as an entry model within MMC's multi-featuring minivan series of "Delica", lined up along with a full size minivan Delica D:5.
Now, Delica D:2 is an OEM model from Suzuki Motors Co.

2011 Suzuki SOLIO

Suzuki and Mitsubishi Agree on OEM Supply of Compact Passenger Vehicles

Suzuki Motor Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Agree on OEM Supply of Compact Passenger Vehicles

Tokyo, December 24, 2010-Suzuki Motor Corporation (Suzuki) and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) have mutually agreed on OEM supply of Suzuki's SOLIO compact passenger vehicle to MMC.

2011 Suzuki SOLIO

Suzuki will supply MMC with about 800 SOLIOs per month beginning from spring 2011.

The OEM supply is expected to generate new customers for MMC, as it will make possible response to a wide variety of customer needs by adding a new genre to MMC's existing lineup – a "compact height wagon."

Through the OEM supply to MMC, Suzuki aims to improve its productivity and lower production and development costs through further increasing economies of scale.

This OEM supply is limited to the Japanese market.

Suzuki halts WRC program amidst global economic turmoil

Suzuki to suspend the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) activities

Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided to suspend the FIA World Rally Championship activities from 2009. The company made the 2008 season entry with two SX4 WRCs.

In responding to the contraction of the automotive sales caused by recent global economic turmoil, Suzuki has been promptly taking possible countermeasures including the reassessment of its global production output. The company, however, foresees the shrinking trend in longer periods of time rather than a short-term phenomenon. To secure its own business environment for tomorrow, the organization reviews every aspect of the operations and decided to focus on the core business functions such as the manufacturing system, environment technologies, and development of new-generation powertrains. As a result, Suzuki concluded to suspend the WRC activities from 2009.

Suzuki started to participate in the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) in 2002 with Ignis Super 1600 and achieved the driver’s victories two times in the history. Afterwards, the company moved up to the WRC field in 2008. The entry to JWRC and WRC brought a great deal of positive effects on the product development and marketing activities, nurturing the high sporty automotive brand image, especially in Europe.

Suzuki will continue to support the customers who are participating in the JWRC with Swift Super 1600 machines, and local motor sport such as Swift Cup in Europe and the rest of the world.

Suzuki expresses its great appreciation to sponsors and fans around the world for their strong support to its activities. The company will continue to provide valued products for its customers by utilizing the experiences earned through the JWRC and WRC activities.

Suzuki WRT Rally Mexico Preview

Gardemeister and Suzuki celebrate a Mexican fiesta!

Event news: Rally Mexico, round three of this year's World Rally Championship, will mark an important milestone for Toni Gardemeister and Suzuki. For Gardemeister, Mexico is his 100th World Rally Championship start, while for Suzuki it is the SX4 WRC's first competitive appearance outside of Europe - as well as the first round of this year's championship to be held on gravel. Having started his World Championship career on the 1996 Rally Finland, Gardemeister is also the factory driver who has been competing on the series for the longest amount of time - despite the fact that he is still only 32 years of age!

The action is sure to be fast and furious on the colourful Rally Mexico, but once again Suzuki finds itself facing a steep learning curve. With the last test event on gravel for the SX4 WRC coming at the 2007 Rally Great Britain, the team and drivers will have to try to find the correct set-up as they go along. Mexico is a crucial event as it is the first World Rally of the year to be held in normal gravel conditions, following the slippery asphalt of Monte Carlo and the icy slush of Sweden. The information gathered in the heat and dust of Mexico will be vital for the many gravel events that are still to come.

The Mexican stages have a number of peculiarities however. With some stages peaking at more than 2000 metres, Mexico is the highest event on the World Championship. The effect of this altitude is to rob the turbocharged engines of power, with cars losing up to 25% of their total horsepower in the thin air. The rally is based in Leon, the leather capital of Mexico, and comprises 20 special stages totalling 353.75 competitive kilometres. For more information: www.rallymexico.com

Per-Gunnar Andersson, 2008 Monte Carlo Rally

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister) and n.12 (Andersson): Mexico joined the World Rally Championship in 2004, but Suzuki has only competed there once - with the Super 1600 Ignis in 2005. The SX4 WRC only has one gravel event behind it - last year's Rally Great Britain with Sebastian Lindholm - so there will be a lot to learn. Nonetheless the basic speed and reliability of the SX4 WRC has been good for a car in this very early stage of its career, with a pair of points finishes already in the bag after the two opening rounds of the World Championship.

Following the Swedish Rally a number of small improvements have been made to the hydraulic system in order to improve reliability and also performance. The Mexican stages are reasonably smooth so the car will run in standard gravel trim. The roads are notoriously hard on brakes though, which will be one of the many factors considered when determining the set-up. Mexico is also the first outing for Pirelli's new 'Scorpion' gravel control tyres.

Driver news: Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson have one thing in common heading into the Rally Mexico: they have both competed on the rally on just one occasion, in 2005. Andersson has happy memories of the event, finishing second in class behind his Suzuki team mate, while Gardemeister mostly remembers being afflicted with a heavy flu that hampered his performance. On the occasion of his 100th world rally though, the Finn is feeling upbeat and in perfect health. "To rack up 100 world rallies is a nice achievement," he said. "I've been in the championship for quite some time now, but it's a bit misleading as there are quite a lot of people who have done more rallies than me. I'm looking forward to Mexico: I was so ill the last time I did this rally that I struggled to finish sixth. Maybe that's why I don't remember so much about it! But I do remember that the stages were nice, although there were some very big rocks that seemed to come out of nowhere. We have to be realistic and accept that this will not be an easy rally for us as everything is unknown. But I'm aiming to enjoy my 100th event and score some more points for Suzuki. I think that's definitely possible."

P-G Andersson also has very little idea about what to expect from the Mexican stages this time round - but he knows that the roads will be tough and unpredictable. "It's actually the sort of event where absolutely anything might happen," he said. "If things go well and other people have problems, you could be in the top five. Equally, you could be unlucky and hit trouble. Realistically I think we have to aim for the top eight. Because of the altitude and our lack of experience compared to everyone else, that would be a good result."

Team news: The pressure is on for Suzuki in Mexico, as it aims to continue its perfect points-scoring record so far from home. As it is the first long-haul event of the season, the team will be using the fly-away kit for the first time, which is freighted from event to event when it is not possible to use the normal trucks.

Mexico is also the very first gravel event of Suzuki's first full World Championship season, making it important for the team to adapt the car to this new surface quickly. Under these difficult circumstances, the team nonetheless aims to score a points finish with both cars. Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki's team principal, commented: "This rally will be a very big test for us, but we need to approach it patiently and methodically - as we have done throughout the season so far. Of course we start off at a disadvantage compared to our more experienced rivals, but this is all part of the learning process. Gravel will be a new adventure for us this year in Mexico and it is important for us to get it right, step by step, in view of all the other events to come. At the same time we aim to enjoy ourselves and help Toni celebrate his 100 World Rallies! I am very pleased that this important anniversary has come with Suzuki."

-Suzuki Motorsports

Michel Nandan joins Suzuki Motorsports

The 48 year-old rally car designer Michel Nandan has joined the Suzuki World Rally Team as Technical Manager, with a view to working on the forthcoming SX4 World Rally Car, due to make its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2007. This comes soon after the decision was made to base the new team in France, rather than in Hungary as previously announced.

This will be the third team for which Nandan has been involved at WRC level. He joined Toyota Team Europe when the Celica ST185 was first being developed and stayed for work on the ST205; cars which between them won 17 world rallies. He was also involved in the early concept stages of the Corolla WRC before moving to Peugeot for work first on the 206 WRC and then the 307WRC, cars which between them won another 27 rallies.

Nandan was not able to begin his engineering work until he had finished his military service, and first moved to a company specialising in metallic composite work in the aerospace industry. His first contact with rallying was when he served as a mechanic for the legendary Monegasque gentleman driver 'Tchine', before working for Peugeot Italia in rallying and Supertourisme racing. He also spent two seasons working with Zakspeed on ITC cars.

The team also announced that Italian Nino Frison joins as Chief Designer.

-FIA WRC

"Monster" confirms Suzuki's WRC HQ

Speaking at Neste Oil Rally Finland, Suzuki motorsport boss Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima confirmed that the company's FIA World Rally Championship program will be based in Hungary, as it gears up for its entry into the WRC in 2008.

Suzuki's European base of operations is based in Hungary, as its customer Junior World Rally Championship programme and it is also the location for its largest European manufacturing plant.


(photo and story: wrc.com)