Suzuki surges in pandemic

Suzuki is celebrating improving its monthly market share for new car sales to nine per cent last month, which is a new August record for the brand.

The gains came despite the country being in a Covid-19 lockdown for the last two weeks of the month.

Suzuki has only bettered this performance when consumer activity has previously been restricted by high alert levels, achieving a 14.4 per cent market share in April 2020 and 9.4 per cent in May 2020.

It was the third most popular marque in August 2021 and ranks fourth in year-to-date sales with a share of 7.6 per cent.

Total sales of new Suzuki cars and SUVs climbed to 5,483 during January to August this year, a 48.3 per cent increase from 3,698 for the same period of 2020.

Sales of the Swift, pictured, are up 30.7 per cent so far this year compared to 2020, with the model accounting for almost one-third of the total light car class, according to official Motor Industry Association statistics.

Suzuki says other notable performers have been the Jimny nearly trebling its year-to-date sales and the Baleno achieving more than double its 2020 figures. The Ignis and Vitara are also up 44.6 per cent and 26.5 per cent respectively.