American Suzuki Motor To Stop Selling Automobiles In US.

The AP (11/6) reports, "American Suzuki Motor Corp. on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it will cease selling automobiles in the US as part of a plan to restructure its business." Once the company "exits bankruptcy protection, American Suzuki Motor said it will focus on selling Suzuki motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and marine outboard engines. It said that it is exiting the car business because of slow sales, unfavorable foreign exchange rates and high costs due to US regulatory requirements."

USA Today (11/6, Woodyard) reports, "In recent years, Suzuki tried to blend the design cues of its motorcycles in its cars, like the well-regarded Kizashi midsize sedan. But its marketing lacked the muscle of bigger, stronger brands, pushing it to the margins. Suzuki sold 21,188 vehicles so far this year, down 4.7% from a year ago, according to Autodata. Its big seller was the SX4 crossover, accounting for about two-thirds of its sales for the year through October."

Bloomberg News (11/6, McCarty) reports, "The Brea, California-based company said it plans to sell substantially all its assets to NounCo. Inc., a unit of Suzuki Motor Corp."

All Suzuki cars sold on North America are/were imported from Japan - and seeing as Japan doesn't have any import duty exemptions in TH, this likely won't have any effect on domestic capacity..

They have to do something with the capacity, why not better support offshore assembly?

Wonder if Kizashi will come here now.