American Suzuki Sales - October 2010

On the surface, one would assume it's a waste of time to even try selling a product if very few people are going to want that product. But is it a waste of time for a motorcycle manufacturer to develop a new product like the beautiful 2011 Suzuki Kizashi if they'll sell less than 10,000 Kizashis in the market for which the Kizashi was designed?

Small volume isn't necessarily bad, you see. OK, it is bad, but work with me for a moment. If small volume was so truly bad, nobody would set up shop in Montana. So long as you're making money, selling a few isn't such a bad thing. Just look at General Motors, a company which has always sold in large numbers but gotten itself into bad situations time and time again. See, Suzuki has already sold more Kizashis in the United States in 2010 than Mercedes-Benz sold E-Class midsizers in Canada in all of 2009. Follow? Nobody asks why Mercedes-Benz didn't pull out of the Canadian automobile market after seeing how small E-Class volume was. It's all in the context; the E-Class is one of the more popular cars in its class. We see the Kizashi's volume as terribly low because its competitors sell in far higher numbers.

That said, I don't personally see how Suzuki can keep on at such low volume. And I can't imagine how terrible things must be when the top of your press release points out that October 2010 was the first month in which American Suzuki posted a year-over-year increase since the spring of 2008. American Suzuki sold 2043 vehicles in October 2010, up 17% from October 2009.

Suzuki SX4: 583
Year-over-year volume change: -19%
Last month: 749
Year-to-date: 9240

Suzuki Kizashi: 583
Last month: 477
Year-to-date: 4540

Suzuki Grand Vitara: 348
Year-over-year volume change: +26%
Last month: 290
Year-to-date: 3722

Suzuki Equator: 114
Year-over-year volume change: +46%
Last month: 118
Year-to-date: 1197

Suzuki XL7: 4
Year-over-year volume change: -97%
Last month: 7
Year-to-date: 304

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - October 2010
Subaru USA Sales - October 2010
Suzuki Kizashi Gallery
Small SUV Sales In America - September 2010