The steady rise in sales of its commercial vehicles and four-wheel drives may help Suzuki reach the 10,000-unit mark in the GCC this year, senior officials said.
Saudi Arabia has proved the most fertile market for Suzuki, with a 50 per cent jump in sales expected this year, officials told the Gulf News.
The kingdom accounted for about 5,000 out of the company's GCC sales figure of 8,000 last year.
Commercial vehicles currently make up nearly half of total vehicle sales in these markets.
In the UAE, unit sales have hovered around 500, officials said.
"Last year was difficult for the Suzuki range of vehicles here. This was in line with the slower growth in the automobile market. Now, with the new launches and a better pricing strategy, we should see growth," said Chizuo Watanabe, Middle East manager for Nisshi Iwai Corp, the shipper for Suzuki Motors in the Gulf.
"In fact, only recently did Suzuki start focusing on this region. Our primary markets were the US, Europe and India. We hope that we can grow our market share through the new pricing strategy on the new models.” – Albawaba.com
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