CarGene
Takeyuki Suzuki

Takeyuki Suzuki

SuzukiDevelopment lead

As chief engineer of the ninth-generation Alto, saw the everyday runabout as "geta, not zori" and sought to raise its basic performance without spending money

Timeline

  1. 2021
    Alto 9th generation
    Alto 9th generation

    2021–presentDevelopment leaduntil Jul. 2025

    Worked with

    Geta, not zori

    For the ninth-generation Alto, for which the company president said he wanted to "perfect the geta," Suzuki took geta to mean something you can slip on right away for a quick outing and go anywhere in. The key point was "not raising the price," but it could not be like zori, which wear out and become unusable. He thought it important that it be a practical geta that can go anywhere, even if the ground is dirty.

    Looking back at the 470,000-yen Alto

    Because the platform stayed the same, they worked from the early stages of engineering and design to raise rigidity. The condition was "without spending money," and the engineers would say "how can we do that?", but he could never tell them to make a cheap car that doesn't matter. The "470,000 yen" that always comes up in the company is not simply about price; it is a keyword for looking back at what was thought and done when the first Alto was launched at 470,000 yen, a way of checking whether the car has what people really want and what it doesn't need.

    Suzuki

  2. 2022

    Chief Engineer, Automobile Product Department 1

Connections

    Takeyuki Suzuki

    Takeyuki Suzuki

    Profile

    Chief engineer in Suzuki's Automobile Product Department No. 1. He was responsible for the development of the ninth-generation Alto.

    Translated from Japanese sources.

    Suzuki engineers

    All Suzuki engineers