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Suzuki posts 46% drop in first-quarter profit on slowing India demand

TOKYO — Suzuki on Monday reported a 46.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, hurt by lower output at home as it improves its inspection systems, and falling demand in India, its biggest market. Japan's fourth-largest automaker posted an operating profit of 62.7 billion yen (GBP487 million) for the April-June quarter, down from 116.5 billion yen a year earlier and below a mean forecast of 69.09 billion from eight analysts, according to Refinitiv. Suzuki reaffirmed its forecast for full-year operating profit to come in at 330 billion yen, up 1.7% from the year ended March 2019. Suzuki, known for its Swift and Baleno compact models, is bracing for subdued growth this year in India, where roughly one in two cars sold carries its brand. The company stuck to a forecast for vehicle sales to increase slightly on the year, but conceded that it may need to trim its forecasts in the coming months as slowing economic growth and stricter emissions standards could dent sales. Slowing profit growth could hamper its ability to invest in and develop lower-emissions vehicles and on-demand transportation services necessary to survive the technological upheaval currently underway in the global auto industry. The automaker has long acknowledged that it cannot shoulder the costs of developing electric vehicles and self-driving cars on its own, and has turned to Toyota to supply Suzuki vehicles with its gasoline hybrid systems.

Four seniors to drive around world in pair of Suzuki Jimny SUVs for charity

Plenty of us here at Autoblog have designs for epic drives. Whether it's bouncing around the country in an old International or heading from Alaska to Chile on a bike, we like to think we have big aspirations. Or at least we did until we heard about these four gentlemen. You see, Leslie George Carvall, Alan Butler, Glyn Maher and Charles Scott are all in their 70's, and they plan to pile into a pair of Suzuki Jimny SUVs and drive around the world. Sort of makes a hike across country seem like a trip down the block to the local corner store. They're calling it "The Ultimate Challenge," and they plan to undertake the journey for two reasons.
First, they want to prove that age shouldn't stand in the way of people doing what they want to do. Second, the group hopes to raise funds for the 'Heaven Can Wait I'm Busy' group, which aims to direct money toward worthy charities both in the UK and around the world. Save the Children and Oakhaven Hospice are the two currently designated charities.
The trip gets started in just three days, and you can head over to the effort's site to track their progress. The route should cover some 16,500 road miles and 10,375 sea miles. You can also catch up with the project on Facebook.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and more collaborating to increase fuel efficiency

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu have announced an alliance that will see a push to improve fuel economy from both gas-powered and diesel-powered engines by as much as 30 percent before the end of the decade.
The newly assembled Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines put the roughly $20-million project together, with the Japanese government committing to half the cost while the eight manufacturers will chip in the rest.
According to Automotive News, the automakers will team up and share basic research on internal-combustion engines in a bid to cut costs. Eventually, the results of the research will find its way into a production vehicle, although it's unclear just when we'll see the fruits of this partnership on the road.