Architect of the Car Revolution in India Osamu Suzuki passes away
Death
5 min read
Osamu Suzuki, founder and former chairman of the Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corporation has died in Japan. He was 94 years old and was suffering from lymphoma(a type of blood cancer).
Osamu Suzuki was also the Director and honourary chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Osamu Suzuki who headed the Suzuki Motor Limited, for more than 40 years, transformed the company into a global automaker and brought affordable mobility to millions in India with the Maruti 800 car. He was instrumental in establishing the Maruti Suzuki company in India which revolutionised the car industry in the country.
Osamu Suzuki invested in India when no foreign company was willing to invest in the country even the Japanese embassy in India was against the investment proposal. However, his success in India led to further Japanese investment in the country.
About Osamu Suzuki
Osamu Suzuki was born on 30th January 1930 in Japan in a farmer’s family. His marriage to the Suzuki family marked an important change in his career. The Suzuki family was in the automobile business. In 1978 he became the President of Suzuki Motor which had expertise in small cars and motorcycles.
He expanded the company’s business by forging ties with General Motors and Volkswagen to expand the company’s business in North America and Europe respectively. His most significant investment was in India where his company revolutionised the car Industry.
Maruti Suzuki and its Contribution
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a subsidiary company of the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan.
The company was set up as Maruti Udyog Limited in February 1981 as a joint venture of the Government of India and Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan.
At present the government of India has no stake in the company and the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan has a 56.2 % stake in the company.
Contribution
The Company introduced its iconic small car Maruti 800 in 1983 which changed the face of the passenger car industry in India. The company which started with the production of 20,000 cars per year in 1983 now produces over 20 lakh vehicles per year.
Today India has emerged as one of the hubs of small cars in the world and a major exporter.
Suzuki has two manufacturing facilities one in Haryana (Gurugram and Manesar) and one in Gujarat.
India became the second country after Japan to cross cumulative production of 3 crore vehicles by the end of March 2024.
It took Suzuki 55 years and 2 months to reach this production level while in Japan but in India, the company achieved this record in 40 years and 4 months.
Padma Bhushan Award for Osamu Suzuki
The government of India conferred Osamu Suzuki with India’s third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2007.
He was conferred the award for his role in establishing a modern automobile sector in India and as an ambassador of India's Japanese relationship
