Osamu Suzuki, the charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. who helped turn the Japanese minicar maker into a globally competitive company, has died, the company said Friday. He was 94.
Suzuki was known for his outspokenness and friendliness, calling himself “an old guy from a small to medium-sized company.” He became CEO of Suzuki in 1978 and led the company as it became the first Japanese automaker to start local production in India, where its cars proved extremely popular.
Born Osamu Matsuda on January 30, 1930, Suzuki worked in banking after graduating from Tokyo Chuo University Law School. He joined Suzuki Motor, based in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, in 1958 when he married the daughter of then-president Shunzo Suzuki, who belonged to the company's founding family. As sometimes happens in such situations, Matsuda took his wife's maiden name.
In 1979, a year after he became the fourth president of Suzuki Motor, he launched an affordable minibus that became a big hit and was promoted to global markets.
Under Suzuki's leadership, the company's sales grew more than tenfold to ¥3 trillion ($19 billion) in the 2000s.
In the 2000s, Suzuki also had business ties with other global leaders such as General Motors and Volkswagen AG. Amid increased competition and industrial transformation, Suzuki also formed a capital alliance with Toyota Motor Corp. in 2019. for the joint development of self-driving cars.
While other Japanese automakers expanded into the US and Chinese markets, offering a wide range of vehicles, Suzuki focused on mini and compact cars, mainly in South and Southeast Asia.
Suzuki emphasized the importance of grassroots understanding.
“Creating good quality products at a low price is the basis of manufacturing,” Suzuki once said in an interview with NHK. “We can't cut costs sitting in the offices of the president or the chairman, so I have to be in the factory to understand the work and get ideas.”
Suzuki stepped down as president at the age of 85 in 2015, handing over the position to his son Toshihiro Suzuki. He served as an advisor to the company after stepping down as chairman in 2021.
Suzuki died Wednesday of malignant lymphoma, the company said.