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I thought we were talking about Suzuki in this thread, hardly a general car maker.
Correct, but that they are trying to become mainstream. Otherwise, why else would they have even bothered with the Equator?
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They are a niche market providor at best and not one that is selling many cars.
The Kizashi competes with the typical Accord/Altima/Camry/Fusion/Malibu ... so no, they're not going after a niche market like the way Subaru has been.
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Besides that people actually buy Porsche cars and SUV's.
The reason I brought them up is that a part of buying a Porsche is being exclusive. And if they moved more volume than a brand that wants to be mainstream ... well, something is wrong.
I thought we were talking about Suzuki in this thread, hardly a general car maker. They are a niche market providor at best and not one that is selling many cars. Besides that people actually buy Porsche cars and SUV's.
So what niche is Suzuki filling?
The only reason Suzuki could even be thought of as a "niche" car brand is because they have not achieved nearly the market penetration here that they had hoped for. In reality, Suzuki produces a million cars a year and is the #4 Japanese manufacturer by volume -- ahead of Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi. Some years they even outsell Nissan. So yeah... at that volume, they certainly are a general car maker.
I thought we were talking about Suzuki in this thread, hardly a general car maker. They are a niche market providor at best and not one that is selling many cars. Besides that people actually buy Porsche cars and SUV's.
No, they are a general market provider that doesn't sell many cars.
The only reason Suzuki could even be thought of as a "niche" car brand is because they have not achieved nearly the market penetration here that they had hoped for. In reality, Suzuki produces a million cars a year and is the #4 Japanese manufacturer by volume -- ahead of Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi. Some years they even outsell Nissan. So yeah... at that volume, they certainly are a general car maker.
What's funny is that they may be ahead of them generally, but fail miserably in the USA.
Suzuki wants to be mainstream here in the US, but they can't do it with their line up, and there seem to be no plant to flesh that out further.
Porsche is a niche maker whom some say have sold their souls to become more mainstream by offering the Cayenne and the Panamera, but they also have much higher profit margins and they make some money of merchandising their name. Suzuki doesn't have that kind of clout. But yes, the point is there that when you have a mainstream provider selling less cars then a niche automaker you are in serious trouble, especially when you have dealers that are not profitable because they have to sell the cars at our below cost and rely on used cars and parts and service to make money. Porsche dealers will sell you a car with good margins, beat you over the head with parts and maintenance if you have the audacity to own one of their vehicles out of warranty and then sell you a coffee mug, keychain, jacket, mousepad, etc to go with it. Ferrari is the king of this and most likely makes more money selling knickknacks then they do cars. They gotta pay for that Formula One team somehow.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
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I worked for a dealer that sold Suzuki a fews back. I worked in service and found them to be a good overall vehicle. The other lines we sold were Acura, Nissan, and Mazda. The Suzuki's I saw only had little issues like trim. The rebadged Daewoo was not as reliable as I recall, but the true Suzuki vehicles were. I think lack of dealer support and commitment. Also cheap fuel for the most part other than 2008 and now makes most of us look at bigger vehicles. Small car market has a ton to choose from.
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