Suzuki New Zealand has expressed concern that the local focus on electric vehicles will leave many of its customers behind as car prices rise and alternatives disappear from the market.
Speak up the launch of the new Vitara Hybrid late last week Tom Peck, CEO of Suzuki New Zealand, spoke out against the Clean Car Standard – a standard that Suzuki seems likely to struggle with for years to come.
Peck also expressed concern about whether the brand’s customers can afford the inevitable EVs that Suzuki will have to introduce to its lineup to meet emissions standard requirements.
“[The government] took what was already the strictest emissions regulation in Europe, and they took out all the bits that really let you beat it. So it’s not particularly friendly to light vehicles, it’s not particularly friendly to vehicles,” Peck said.
Matthew Hansen/Stuff
The Vitara will be a fully hybrid nameplate by the end of the year, the first in Suzuki’s lineup.
“From our point of view, if a Swift EV were the same price as a [Nissan] Leaf for example – $60 or 70,000 – it’s a big challenge for our current customer base,” added Peck.
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“Our plan is and remains to move forward and introduce more hybrids and other electrifications in phases. Based on our recent sales, it clearly seems to be working for us and our customer base at the moment.”
Suzuki New Zealand managing director Gary Collins said about 92.5% of Suzuki customers buy cars for $35,000 or less.
Delivered
Suzuki CEO Tom Peck confirmed that the Jimny 5-door is destined for local launch.
“We have a customer base that buys their models because they love the brand, and many of them simply can’t afford a more expensive car. So we would lose a lot of our existing customers if we jumped straight to a $70,000 BEV model,” Collins said.
The cheapest electric car currently on sale in New Zealand is a title held by the $49,990 MG ZS EV crossover and GWM Ora Cat hatchback, with both models eligible for the $8,625 Clean Car Discount discount, effectively making them a little over $40,000 plus on-road costs.
The comments come after Suzuki New Zealand achieved its strongest annual sales to date in 2022, with a rise of 8,494 vehicle sales over the calendar year, led by the Swift, Jimny and Vitara.
As the brand pushes to reduce the average emissions of its fleet, it has begun phasing out select pure combustion engine models across its range, starting with its popular Vitara.
The Suzuki S-Cross has been updated inside and out for 2022.
At the aforementioned launch of the Vitara Hybrid, it was confirmed that the standard pure petrol variants of the Vitara will soon disappear from showrooms – the company announced it will no longer order non-hybrid 1.4-litre Vitara models. The brand’s remaining petrol-exclusive Vitara stock is expected to last several months before being abandoned.
While it didn’t confirm it would do the same with any of its other nameplates, it was noted that the Swift could be the next model to be a dedicated hybrid. This could potentially mean the end of the road for the beloved Swift Sport; the most affordable hot hatch on the market.
“We need to move steadily to higher price vehicles over time so we don’t let existing customers down,” added Collins. “The move to hybrid models is a very important part of this transition and will allow us to continue to offer affordable vehicles that suit our market.”
Delivered
While the Swift is currently as popular as ever, the Swift Sport variant could soon find itself on the chopping block if the brand continues to struggle with the Clean Car Standard.
Suzuki New Zealand’s relationship with the government’s Clean Car Discount and Clean Car Standard programs has long been a complicated one. The discount scheme has helped Suzuki, which has one of the most low-emissions lineups in the country despite not offering an electric car.
Conversely, the brand has long believed that the Clean Car Standard is unfairly aimed at the likes of the Jimny and Swift because of how weight counts into the way it calculates emissions penalties.
Such was the company’s view on the Clean Car Standard that Suzuki New Zealand stated in its submission to the government’s Land Transport Amendment Bill in 2021 that it was considering withdrawing from New Zealand – a statement the company walked back shortly after.
DAMIEN O’CARROLL
The first new Suzuki Jimny in 20 years is here. However, Suzuki literally can’t get enough of it. (Originally published March 2019)
With April 1 marking the first anniversary of the so-called “ute tax” allowance from the Clean Car Discount and hybrid and low-emission gasoline rebates, Peck expects some form of government announcement to come soon.
The CEO expects that the government can take the decision to reverse the availability of discounts for hybrids and low-emission petrol vehicles. Should this happen, it would be another tough pill for Suzuki New Zealand to swallow.
“We have that feeling [the government] going back to just BEV and PHEV, as it originally was when they first started. In that scenario, the Vitara Hybrid would not be discounted,” said Peck.
“We are expecting an announcement from the government on April 1 and we don’t know what they will do.”