The main problem with Suzuki is that they never were too big in R&D, model portfolio planning and upgrading. Sure, the Maruti/Suzuki fans in India can say that they brought in the Baleno as a large hatch, but it was nearly a decade after the S-RV, Fabia and i20, that they brought it in the Ignis but that niche was already with them.. Ignis just slotted in-between their existing models Wagon-R and Ritz (I still consider Ritz to be their best built small car). They have brought in the S-Cross, but not with in-house engines and also they have a huge hole where they used the have the SX4 (a vastly superior car ride-quality wise to the present Ciaz) and the Kizashi, but even there the SX4 was a re-branded Fiat Sedici.
Playing as a global seller needs way too much investments, marketing and R&D. Suzuki's investments and marketing are literally zero (not talking local investments.. but rather investments in engineering talent, technology development and in-house production). Today only about 3 companies have the budget to try and enter every territory possible and make a name for themselves - VWAG, Hyundai, Toyota.
China may be the land of the rising sun, but often nothing other than that rises out of China, save for home-grown brands which also pay tribute to global brands. Suzuki is right in this regard.. the top 10 cars which sold in China in 2017 are :
Baojun 560 - SUV
GAC Trumpchi GS4 - SUV
VW Sagitar - A Jetta-esque model which looks like a Passat
VW Jetta - A Jetta which resembles a Vento
Nissan Sylphy - A Nissan Sunny with all the letters in-between modified.
Baojun 730 - A MUV
Buick Excellente GT - Aka Opel Astra
VW Lavida - Notwithstanding a Spanish name, this is yet another Jetta remix
Great Wall Haval H6 - A SUVish MUV
Wuling Hongguang - A boxy MUV[1]
All big cars, and all indigenous brands save for VW which surprisingly has found favor in a land which more times than not, has disagreed with European trade policies and agreements.
China is a tough market to crack for other brands as well :
Ford :
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Ford has two significant challenges, one short term and one long term. Right now, they're beset by aging product, and new models won't start to arrive until the fourth quarter [of 2018]. Ford is also light on emotional connection to Chinese buyers. It's at risk of losing sales to much-improved Chinese cars and SUVs.
Ford is at a tough point in its product cycle. Most of its core products are a few years old. That's more of a problem in China than in most markets, where things seem to move very quickly because there are so many competitors.
In addition to the latest models from just about all of the global automakers, Chinese car buyers can choose vehicles from a slew of domestic Chinese automakers that (mostly) aren't yet well-known elsewhere, and that have a big incentive to undercut the global brands to build credibility and market share.
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Honda:
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The quality issue Honda has been dealing with in China since the outset of this year is a cold-climate engine problem caused by an unusual amount of un-combusted petrol collecting in the engine’s lubricant oil pan.
Honda in early March decided to halt new sales of its CR-V and noted the company might have to do the same with the Civic after a Chinese quality watchdog rejected the automaker’s plan to recall 350,000 of the cars to fix the problem.The CR-V sales termination began in early March and lasted throughout the month.Sales of the compact SUV in March totaled just 916 vehicles, compared with the 14,360 Honda sold a year earlier.Honda did not stop selling the Civic in early March, but its volume also fell sharply – down 16.5 percent to 13,586 vehicles.
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GM, VW and indigenous brands will rule the roost in China, don't see that changing too soon.
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