Osamu Suzuki, who turned small-car specialist Suzuki Motor into a global brand with significant success in India, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94 following cancer treatments, the firm announced on Friday.
Through 2021, the company’s sales more than tenfold increased under the dynamic entrepreneur’s four decades in charge.
He was born on January 30, 1930, in the Gifu district of central Japan. He married into the founding family of the company and rose to the position of president in 1978.
Identifying as a “old man at a small business,” he concentrated on creating lightweight “kei” vehicles, several of which gained popularity because to their ease of handling and fuel efficiency.
In order to grow his firm, he also actively looked for foreign partners and prospects.
In 2019, the automaker formed a capital alliance with Toyota after previously partnering with General Motors and Volkswagen.
He made an expansion to India, where the company’s subsidiary currently holds the top spot in the market.
The company’s sales were 3.18 trillion yen ($20 billion) in 2021, the year he retired as chairman.
According to the Nikkei Shimbun business daily, the company’s sales were 323 billion yen when he took charge in 1978.
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