OSAMU Suzuki, who ran Suzuki Motor Corp., known for its minicars and motorcycles, for five decades and drove the company’s global expansion, has died. He was 94.Born Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki married into the family that gave the Hamamatsu, Japan-based automaker its name. During his long tenure, he formed partnerships with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG to sell vehicles in North America and Europe and leveraged Suzuki Motor’s expertise in small cars to build a dominant market share in India.
A former bank employee, Osamu Suzuki got his start in the automotive business thanks to his arranged marriage to Shoko Suzuki, a granddaughter of Michio Suzuki, who founded Suzuki Motor’s predecessor, a loom manufacturer, in 1909. Osamu Suzuki took his wife’s surname, as is the Japanese custom when there are no male heirs to a family business.
Betting that the company could establish a foothold in small markets neglected by larger rivals, he led Suzuki Motor’s overseas expansion by building production bases from Pakistan to Hungary.IN 1981, Detroit-based GM, then the world’s biggest carmaker, agreed to buy a stake in Suzuki Motor, which was seeking to expand in North America and Europe. GM would later hold as much as 20% of Suzuki Motor after doubling its interest in 2001.
Osamu Suzuki said the company would value its independence in future dealings with other automakers. Suzuki formed a capital alliance with Toyota in 2019. Maruti, now a unit of Suzuki Motor, quickly became the biggest carmaker in India, though its market share has been eroded by Hyundai Motor Co. and Tata Motors Ltd.
After stepping down as president in 2000, he became Suzuki Motor’s chairman and chief executive officer. He returned as president at age 78 in December 2008, when Suzuki Motor was expecting its first profit decline in eight years as the global recession and tighter lending weighed on car demand.
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