Suzuki has been an almost invisible fixture in the Australian market for over 30 years. During that period, car companies have come and gone -- sometimes rather meteorically.

One example of that was Daewoo, now owned by GM and no longer exporting under its own brand name. Five years after entering the Australian market, Daewoo Automotive Australia announced that it had sold 60,000 cars locally. That was in 1999, with the Korean importer riding the crest of a wave, building brand loyalty rapidly.

At the time that Daewoo announced this remarkable feat, the accompanying press release showed the comparative lengths of time it had taken Japanese companies and fellow Korean importer Hyundai to achieve the same sales volume. Of all the Japanese importers, only Suzuki had failed to reach that milestone, despite selling cars and 4WDs in Australia for nearly 30 years prior.

Unlike Daewoo, Suzuki was not one distribution channel operated by the factory. Up until the last decade, the Japanese company's products were sold through multiple distributors -- with three different distributors for the eastern states alone. Even now, with Suzuki Australia assuming responsibility for distributing cars, commercials and SUVs in Victoria and Tasmania (formerly MW Motors), NSW and the ACT (formerly Ateco Automotive) and other states throughout the country, there's still an independent distributor (Mayfairs) operating in Queensland.

Yet despite the political and logistical obstacles in distributing vehicles this way, Suzuki is enjoying an improved sales outlook in Australia, calculating that sales have improved by 200 per cent since 2004. Based on total sales of 21,575 vehicles in 2007 (according to VFACTS), Suzuki is projecting sales of 26,000 for this year, 30,000 next year and 40,000 in 2010.

"We are confident we have a strategy in place to achieve that goal," says Tony Devers, Suzuki Australia's General Manager, "through incremental volume, new products -- in market segments we currently do not compete in".

Devers refers to three "cornerstones" of a business development strategy for Suzuki; one of those cornerstones being 'brand image', another being 'product' and the third being 'dealer network development'.

To enhance brand image, Suzuki appeals to a youth market and has sponsored the Melbourne Storm NRL team, which means that the company has a foot in each camp -- seen to be supporting a football code strongly followed in two populous states, and sponsoring a highly-regarded team from a third state. Whether by luck or management, the sponsored team is consistently performing at or near the top of the ladder in the NRL competition.

Unlike sponsorship of an AFL team in Victoria, Suzuki's support for the Storm won't necessarily be lost in amongst the higher-profile car companies also sponsoring football teams. In addition, Suzuki sponsors the Auckland Warriors and since the company has a presence in New Zealand, the arrangement with the Warriors also serves the company well in that market.

Then there's the rally involvement and association with the WRC -- also an appeal to the youth demographic and a handy way of building the profile of both the Swift and SX4 models.

Beyond the narrow focus of the youth demographic, Suzuki also sponsors the Surf Life Saving Association and the conservation program, 'Save the Tassie Devil'.

All these campaigns help to build Suzuki's brand image, which is not as prestigious in Australia as the image of other Japanese car companies. Devers believes that lack of brand awareness in this country is costing Suzuki up to $1500 per vehicle, which is why the new Grand Vitara has been so carefully priced to undercut its competition.

Suzuki is continuing to extend its product portfolio in Australia. The latest generation of Grand Vitara mentioned above (more here), matches a 2.4-litre engine in a three-door short-wheelbase model -- with the added marketing cachet of an automatic transmission.

It's likely that the five-door Grand Vitara with this engine and transmission combination will be the volume-seller in the range, but the three-door model reinforces the company's commitment to young buyers and pitches that body style with the auto transmission not previously available in the SWB Grand Vitara -- powered as it was by a significantly smaller 1.6-litre engine. Suzuki is committed to building a marketing campaign around the three-door Grand Vitara, tied in with the sponsorship of the Storm.

"RAV4, [Toyota was] probably selling 600 a month of three-doors -- and they walked away from it," says Devers. "If we get 150 a month, I'll be happy. It's all incremental. Only having a manual and not an automatic was pretty tough."

And the products keep coming. A new light car (more here) and a medium-car contender for the first time (more here), will give Suzuki the 'legs' it has lacked in the past.

New product and national marketing are also bolstered by Suzuki improving its dealer network and supporting retailers with a consistent corporate look.

Suzuki and its dealers will expend $40 million on network development over the next two years, on top of the 13 new Suzuki dealers appointed over the past 12 months. Devers points to the achievements of an individual dealer, based in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee, as an example of how the brand is progressing.

"Peter Davey Suzuki, who took over [Rick] Wolany is now the number one Suzuki dealer in Australia. He put Suzuki in a Lexus showroom and it's a beautiful-looking place. The staff are a credit to the Suzuki brand."

Another Melbourne-based dealer, Preston Motors, has handed back its Kia franchise in favour of a Suzuki franchise -- and dealers associated with other volume-selling companies have been reportedly contacting Suzuki about buying a franchise.

Importantly for Suzuki -- and true for any dealer -- one of the key performance indicators will be customer retention.

"It is six times less expensive," says Devers, "to retain a customer, than to win a new one".

With market research that shows 90 per cent of Suzuki customers are satisfied with their purchasing decision, finding repeat business shouldn't prove too hard.

Back in 1999, the Japanese importer sold just 8000 units, when Daewoo sold roughly the same number of vehicles in that year as Suzuki sold last year (21,517 for Daewoo in '99, 21,575 for Suzuki in 2007). Who would have thought slow-coach Suzuki could have come so far, so fast?

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