End of the road for Suzuki Grand Vitara and Alto
Suzuki GB is set to cut the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Splash and Alto from its line-up, with new models on the way
Suzuki's UK arm has confirmed that three of its most recognisable models, the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Suzuki Splash and Suzuki Alto, are set to be phased out.
No more Grand Vitaras will be available when existing stock is sold from showrooms, probably by the end of the year.
And the company has no plans to replace the SUV, meaning the SX4 S-Cross will become the biggest model Suzuki sells.
The Vitara name will live on, however, in the recently announced new supermini-SUV, which will be on display at October’s Paris Motor Show.
The Alto, meanwhile, is likely to be discontinued next spring following the arrival of the new Suzuki Celerio city car at the start of next year.
The Celerio will be made in Thailand, and will be slightly bigger than the Alto, although smaller than the Splash, which will also be withdrawn from sale.
Suzuki says the Celerio will emit less than 99g/km of CO2, and be available with an automated manual gearbox later in 2015. A sub-£8k price tag is being targeted in the UK.
The Alto remains a decent seller for Suzuki in Britain, and overtook the Swift in 2013 with 13,000 sales courtesy of a VAT-free offer.
Meanwhile, Suzuki has announced the winner of a T-shirt design competition which will raise money for The Marcus Rutherford Foundation, the charity set up by Auto Express columnist Mike Rutherford to aid young cancer victims. The design, by David Greenman of the Isle of Wight, will be sold in Suzuki’s latest merchandise collection, with 10 per cent of proceeds going to the charity.
