Suzuki Motor Corp's Former Chairman Osamu Suzuki Dies At 94

Throughout his long tenure, Suzuki forged partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen AG to introduce vehicles in North America and Europe

Suzuki Motor Corp's Former Chairman Osamu Suzuki

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Osamu Suzuki, who led Suzuki Motor Corp. for several decades, overseeing its global expansion and making the company renowned for its minicars and motorcycles, has passed away at the age of 94. He died from lymphoma on December 25 and is survived by his wife and three children, according to a company statement, according to a Bloomberg report.

Born Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki married into the family that founded the Hamamatsu, Japan-based automaker. Throughout his long tenure, he forged partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen AG to introduce vehicles in North America and Europe, while leveraging Suzuki Motor's expertise in small cars to secure a dominant market share in India.

Suzuki guided the company for more than 40 years, serving in roles including president, chairman, and CEO from 1978 until his retirement in June 2021 at the age of 91.

Under Osamu Suzuki's leadership, Suzuki's consolidated sales surged from around 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in 1978, the year he became president, to over 3 trillion yen by fiscal 2006, marking a tenfold increase, as per the report.

Suzuki’s early life was shaped by humble beginnings. While studying law at Chuo University in Tokyo, he worked as a junior high school teacher and a night guard to support himself. After graduating in 1953, he worked at a bank before marrying into the Suzuki family business, states the report.

Born on January 30, 1930, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Suzuki joined the company in 1958 after marrying into the founding family. Upon becoming president in 1978, he set out to transform Suzuki from its origins as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. (founded in 1920) into one of Japan's top carmakers, with its headquarters in Hamamatsu.

Even after resigning as president in 2000, Suzuki stayed deeply involved in the company, taking on roles as chairman and CEO. In response to the global financial crisis of 2008, he returned as president at the age of 78 to tackle the company’s first profit decline in eight years.