Salman Khan to be Suzuki Motorcycles' 1st Brand Ambassador

After the recently adopted brand theme – Apna Way of Life, Suzuki Motorcycles has brought Salman Khan onboard as its 1st brand ambassador. Salman will be part of a campaign promoting the recently launched motorcycle, the Hayate. This is a superb move by Suzuki and will help the brand get some much needed consumer mind-share. Suzuki has been relegated to the position of an also-ran in the Indian 2-wheeler marketplace, unlike its 4 wheeled sibling, Maruti Suzuki. Salman Khan has an incredible fan-following with the masses in both, urban and rural India. Most of Sallubhai's recent movies have been box-office hits (and we're huge fans of the cool Khan!). 

This is only the second time that Suzuki has had a brand ambassador in India. Back in 2001, Maruti Suzuki had the father-son duo of Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan promoting its Versa MPV. Unfortunately, that did nothing for the Versa that ended up as a market dud. Suzuki must be hoping to emulate the success that Hyundai and Yamaha have enjoyed with Shahrukh Khan and John Abraham respectively. A brand ambassador can bring eyeballs to the company and even footfalls to the showrooms, but beyond that, the product has to do the talking. Is the 100cc Hayate commuter bike up to the task? 

By 2013, Suzuki Motorcycle plans to increase its annual capacity from the current 360,000 units to 540,000 units. It is also expected to set up a second plant in Haryana at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. The company sold 35,158 units in March 2012, compared to 27,361 units in March 2011. But this is still far behind its competitors. The most successful product for Suzuki Motorcycles has been the Access 125 gearless scooter. Its motorcycle range has been largely neglected by the market. 

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