Changan presses partner Suzuki to bring more competitive models to China
China Changan Automobile Group Co. has urged joint venture partner Suzuki Motor Corp. to introduce into China more competitive models including new cars and SUVs.
Xu Bin, president of the Changan Group's parent company, China South Industry Group Corp., lobbied for an upgraded product lineup in talks with Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki last month in Japan.
Xu also urged the Japanese automaker to strengthen its research and development and increase the local content of vehicles built in China, Changan Group said in a statement.
Suzuki has two Chinese joint ventures: Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co. and Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co.
Due to aging models and high procurement costs, the two joint ventures have thin profit margins. Changhe Suzuki has been losing money for years.
Changan Suzuki is located in the southwest China city of Chongqing. It makes the Suzuki Alto, Ignis, Swift SX4 and Swift Lingyang -- which is the previous generation of the Suzuki Swift.
Changhe Suzuki, which is based in the east China city of Jindezhen, produces the Suzuki Wagon R+, Liana and Splash.
In the first nine months of this year, Suzuki sales in China rose 10 percent to 228,739 vehicles. The company accounted for 2.4 percent of China's passenger vehicle market, according to J.D. Power.
