Suzuki Motor former boss who turned the minicar maker into a global player dies at 94

Suzuki Motor Corp. then-chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Sept. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

TOKYO — Osamu Suzuki, the charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. who helped turn the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a globally competitive company, has died, the company said Friday. He was 94.

Suzuki was known for his candid remarks and friendliness, calling himself an "old guy from a small to mid-size company." He became CEO of Suzuki in 1978 and was leading the company when it became the first Japanese automaker to start local production in India, where its cars proved hugely popular.

Born on Jan. 30, 1930 as Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki worked in banking after graduating from Tokyo's Chuo University School of Law. He joined Suzuki Motor, which is based in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, in 1958 when he married a daughter of the company's then-president Shunzo Suzuki, who belonged to the company's founding family. As is sometimes the custom in such situations, Matsuda adopted his wife's maiden name.

In 1979, a year after he became Suzuki Motor's fourth company president, he launched an affordable minicar, which became a big hit and was promoted to world markets.

Under Suzuki's leadership, the company's sales grew more than tenfold to 3 trillion yen (US$19 billion) in the 2000s. .

Suzuki also led business tie-ups with other global leaders such as General Motors and Volkswagen AG in the 2000s. Amid intensifying competition and industrial transformation, Suzuki also formed a capital alliance with Toyota Motor Corp. in 2019 to co-develop self-driving vehicles.

While other Japanese automakers have expanded in the U.S. and Chinese markets, offering a wide range of vehicles, Suzuki has stuck with mini and compact cars, mostly in South and Southeast Asia.

Suzuki stressed the importance of understanding the grassroots level.

"Making good quality and low-price products is the basis of manufacturing," Suzuki once told an interview with the broadcaster NHK television. "We cannot lower costs while sitting in the offices of president or chairperson, so I have to be in a factory to understand the work and get ideas."

Suzuki stepped down as president at age 85 in 2015, handing the post to his son, Toshihiro Suzuki. He served as an advisor to the company after resigning as chairman in 2021.

The company said Suzuki died Wednesday of malignant lymphoma.