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History
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In 1909, Michio Suzuki (1887-1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built weaving looms for Japan's giant silk industry.[5] In 1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. Suzuki filed as many as 120 patents and utility model rights.[citation needed] The company's first 30 years focused on the development and production of these exceptionally complex machines.[citation needed]
Despite the success of his looms, Suzuki realized his company had to diversify and he began to look at other products. Based on consumer demand, he decided that building a small car would be the most practical new venture. The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact prototype cars. These first Suzuki motor vehicles were powered by a then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It featured a cast aluminum crankcase and gearbox and generated 13 horsepower (9.7 kW) from a displacement of less than 800cc.
With the onset of World War II, production plans for Suzuki's new vehicles were halted when the government declared civilian passenger cars a "non-essential commodity." At the conclusion of the war, Suzuki went back to producing looms. Loom production was given a boost when the U.S. government approved the shipping of cotton to Japan. Suzuki's fortunes brightened as orders began to increase from domestic textile manufacturers. But the joy was short-lived as the cotton market collapsed in 1951.
Faced with this colossal challenge, Suzuki's thoughts went back to motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation. A number of firms began offering "clip-on" gas-powered engines that could be attached to the typical bicycle. Suzuki's first two-wheel ingenuity came in the form of a motorized bicycle called, the "Power Free." Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free featured a 36 cc, one horsepower, two-stroke engine.[6] An unprecedented feature was the double-sprocket gear system, enabling the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The system was so ingenious that the patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering, and so was born Suzuki Motor Corporation.
In 1953, Suzuki scored the first of many racing victories when the tiny 60 cc "Diamond Free" won its class in the Mount Fuji Hill Climb.[6]
By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Following the success of its first motorcycles, Suzuki created an even more successful automobile: the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight. Suzuki showcased its penchant for innovation from the beginning. The Suzulight included front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering—features common on cars half a century later.
Maruti Suzuki
Main article: Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki's A-Star vehicle during its unveiling in Pragati Maidan, Delhi. A-Star, Suzuki's fifth global car model, was designed and is made only in India.[9] Besides being Suzuki's largest subsidiary in terms of car sales, Maruti Suzuki is also Suzuki's leading research and development arm outside Japan
Based in Gurgaon, India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited is Suzuki's largest and most valuable subsidiary with an annual production of 1,018,365 units in the fiscal 2009-2010.[10] Suzuki has a 54.2% stake in the Indian auto giant and the rest is owned by the various Indian public and financial institutions. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.[11] In 2005-2006, the company had a 54% market share of the passenger car market in India.[12] Nearly 75,000 people are employed directly by Maruti and its partners.
Maruti Suzuki was born as a Government of India company, with Suzuki as a minor partner, to make a people’s car for middle class India. Over the years, the product range has widened, ownership has changed hands and the customer has evolved.
Maruti Suzuki offers 14 models, ranging from India's one-time best selling car, Maruti 800, for less than INR 200,000 (US$ 5000) to the premium sedan Maruti Suzuki SX4 and luxury SUV, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Maruti 800 was the first model launched by the company in 1983 followed by mini-van Maruti Omni in 1984. Both models were huge success in their respective categories because of the use of high-end technology and good fuel efficiency. Maruti Gypsy, launched in 1985, came into widespread use with the Indian Army and Indian Police Service becoming its primary customers. The short-lived Maruti 1000 too achieved moderate success until it was replaced by Maruti Esteem in 1994, to counter increasing competition in the medium-sedan category.
Maruti Zen, launched in 1993, was the company's second compact car model and also became extremely popular in India because of its high performance. The company went on to launch another compact car Maruti Wagon-R followed by Maruti Baleno in 1999. However, with increasing competition from Tata, Hyundai, Honda and Daewoo Motors, Maruti was not able to achieve the same success with Baleno as it had with its earlier models. So it replaced Maruti Suzuki Baleno with the Suzuki SX4. Currently Suzuki SX4 is facing stiff competition from the Honda City.
In 2000, Maruti Alto was launched. The launch of Tata Indica and Hyundai Santro had affected Maruti's sales but Alto helped secure the company's position as the auto leader in India. It is currently the largest selling car in India. The Maruti models include Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, launched in 2003, Maruti Versa, launched in 2004, Maruti Suzuki Swift, launched in 2005, Maruti Zen Estilo and Maruti Suzuki SX4, launched in 2007. The Alto, Swift and SX4 are leaders in their respective segments in the Indian Market.
On 14 February, Maruti Suzuki India, a Suzuki subsidiary in India, announced that it achieved one million total accumulated production volume of the Alto. The Alto has reached the million units mark in just seven years and five months since its launch on September 2000. The last half of the million has come in a record 25 months. The Alto has been India's largest volume-selling car, every month, for the past 37 consecutive months. Its popularity has continued to grow since its launch, with customers attracted to its combination of fuel efficiency, contemporary design and looks and features including Electronic Power Steering and air-conditioning. With this the Alto became the third car in the Maruti Suzuki stable to cross the million units mark. Previously, the Maruti 800 and the Omni had exceeded the million units mark. Besides its success in India, over 152,000 Altos made at Maruti Suzuki were delivered internationally, enjoying good outcomes in Algeria and Chile.
Maruti Exports Limited is the subsidiary of Maruti Udyog Limited with its major focus on exports and it does not operate in the domestic Indian market. The first commercial consignment of 480 cars were sent to Hungary. By sending a consignment of 571 cars to the same country, Maruti crossed the benchmark of 3,000,000 cars. Since its inception export was one of the aspects the government has been keen to encourage. Every political party expected Maruti to earn foreign exchange. Angola, Benin, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Europe, Kenya, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador are some of the markets served by Maruti Exports.[13]
Other subsidiary companies of the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan in India are:
- SUZUKI POWERTRAIN INDIA LIMITED: Manufacturers engines for cars
- SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED: Manufactures two wheelers under brand name 'Suzuki'. Its two wheeler models launched in India are 'GS 150R, Intruder, Hayabusa 1300 cc, 125 cc Access, 125 cc Motorcycle Zeus.
sleek and athletic
SLRÂ McLaren
Trademark origins
The newly created automobile company, Mercedes-Benz also needed a new image symbolising its enterprise union. The iconic three-pointed star is pervasive and unmistakably recognised around the world. But its design has evolved in many ways since the two companies merged in 1926. One early logo was trademarked in the United States on Friday, 16 August 1929. An application was filed for Mercedes-Benz by Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft of Berlin, Germany with the USPTO. Their application was filed in the primary class of non-metallic building materials and provide a description that included, "automotive vehicles, as follows: passenger cars and freight trucks; parts of and accessories to said vehicles…"
The drawing design Mercedes-Benz logo is a registered trademark at the USPTO, and owned by Daimler AG
The design of the Mercedes-Benz signature logo was described by the USPTO with three aspects, 1) Stars with three points (Celestial bodies, natural phenomena, Geographical maps — Stars, comets), 2) Garlands, wreaths, bands, borders or frames made of plants (Plants — Decorations made of plants), and 3) Circular or elliptical seals (Heraldry, flags, crowns, crosses, arrows, and symbols — Seals).
Daimler-Benz elaborates on their use of the new logo and its representations in their 1928 application. Based upon their description, it appears they combined design elements from each automobile company to create a new logo reflecting each company's legacy. They stated that the trademark was applied to goods in their business since October 1926 with the trademark, "having been used in the business of the applicant's predecessors and in the business of applicant, continuously since the following dates. The word Mercedes since December 1900; the word Benz since July 1896; the representation of a three-pointed star since 27 June 1909, the representation of a wreath of laurel since September, 1909."[3] In their U.S. trademark application, Daimler-Benz stated that their trademark was registered in Germany on 28 August 1928 with an application date of 21 August 1926.
U.S. trademark registration was granted on 28 July 1931. Its current status is registered and renewed with the latest owner listed as Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany.[3] Mercedes-Benz is currently owned by Daimler AG in Germany.
Business alliances
Studebaker-Packard
In 1958, Mercedes-Benz entered into a distribution agreement with the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA), makers of Studebaker and Packard brand automobiles[4]. Under the deal, Studebaker would allow Mercedes-Benz access to its dealer network in the U.S., handle shipments of vehicles to the dealers, and in return, receive compensation for each car sold. Studebaker also was permitted to use the German automaker's name in its advertisements, which stressed Studebaker's quality over quantity.[citation needed]
When Studebaker entered into informal discussions with Franco-American automaker Facel Vega about offering Facel Vega Excellence model in the United States, Mercedes-Benz objected to the proposal. Studebaker, which needed Mercedes-Benz distribution payments to help stem heavy losses, dropped further action on the plan.[citation needed]
Mercedes-Benz maintained an office within the Studebaker works in South Bend from 1958 to 1963, when Studebaker's U.S. operations ceased. Many U.S Studebaker dealers converted to Mercedes-Benz dealerships at that time. When Studebaker closed its Canadian operation and left the automobile business in 1966, remaining Studebaker dealers had the option to convert their dealerships to Mercedes-Benz dealership agreements.[citation needed]
Subsidiaries
Mercedes-Benz AMG became a majority owned division of Mercedes-Benz in 1998.[5] The company was integrated into DaimlerChrysler in 1999,[6] and became Mercedes-Benz AMG beginning on 1 January 1999.[7]
Quality rankings
Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz had maintained a reputation for its quality and durability. Objective measures looking at passenger vehicles - such as J.D. Power surveys, demonstrated a downturn in reputation in this criteria in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By mid-2005, Mercedes temporarily returned to the industry average for initial quality, a measure of problems after the first 90 days of ownership, according to J.D. Power.[8] In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic improvement by climbing from 25th to 5th place, surpassing quality leader Toyota, and earning several awards for its models.[9] For 2008, Mercedes-Benz's initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, now in fourth place.[10] On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes’ Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant.[10] As of 2009, Consumer Reports of the United States has changed their reliability ratings for several Mercedes-Benz vehicles to "average", and are recommending the E-Class and the S-Class.[11]
Corporate average fuel economy
In the United States, Mercedes-Benz was assessed a record US$30.66 million for their decision to not meet the federal corporate average fuel economy standard in 2009.[12] Certain Mercedes-Benz cars including the S550, and all AMG models sold in the United States also face an additional gas guzzler tax.[13]
In 2008, Mercedes had the worst CO2 average of all major European manufacturers, ranking 14th out of 14 manufacturers[14]. Mercedes was also the worst manufacturer in 2007 and 2006 in terms of average CO2 levels, with 181 g and 188 g of CO2 emitted per km, respectively[15]
McLaren cars
Mercedes-Benz has also produced a limited-production sports car with McLaren Cars, an extension of the collaboration by which Mercedes engines are used by the Team McLaren-Mercedes Formula One racing team, which is part owned by Mercedes. The 2003 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has a carbon fibre body with a 5.4 litre V8 supercharged engine. This is the same cylinder block as featured in SL55 AMG and the CLS55 AMG, though modified to give 460 kilowatts (625 PS; 617 bhp) and 780 newton metres (575 ft·lbf) of torque. The SLR has a maximum speed of 337 kilometres per hour (209.4 mph) and costs approximately US$500,000. Due to European pedestrian-protection regulations, McLaren decided to cease production of the SLR in 2009.[29]
MITSUBISHI THEORY| New model joins PAJERO familys, "PAJERO iO" 5-door series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Sorrento" model enhanced by Pininfarina of Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tokyo, 24 August 1998
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