Suzuki wants to build even lighter – Also electric cars according to strategy
Suzuki wants to expand the advantages of lightweight construction in fuel consumption and production costs over next ten years and also transfer them to e-cars.
(Image: Suzuki)
Suzuki is known for a product range at the lighter end of the scale, at least when it comes to cars. In comparison, Suzukis are around 200 to 300 kilograms below the average of all manufacturers in Europe, India and Japan, the company writes. As a result, the fleet already consumes six percent less than the average and production is even 20 percent cheaper. The experience gained in the field of lightweight construction is now to be used to make the company even more efficient in the future. This should also apply to the electric cars from the company's own production that have already been announced. To this end, Suzuki is introducing a manufacturing principle with the catchy name "Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi", which is difficult to understand for those unfamiliar with Japanese. In German: "smaller, less, lighter, shorter and cleaner".
According to a graphic from Suzuki, the Suzuki Alto, for example, originally weighed 545 kg. From its seventh to eighth generation, Suzuki has already reduced the weight from 740 to 620 kg, with improved safety standards, as the manufacturer writes. From the current ninth generation with 680 kg, the model is to return to the level of its third generation with just under 600 kg by reducing the weight by up to 100 kg. That sounds ambitious. But it is likely to be even more difficult with electric cars.
With own electric cars from 2025
Without electric cars, however, the company will not achieve its goal of a CO₂-neutral offering on the European market by 2050. So far, it has been able to improve its fleet consumption primarily through badge engineering with Toyota as a partner. The Suzuki Swace, a station wagon based on the Toyota Corolla Hybrid (test), and the Suzuki Across, a renamed Toyota RAV-4 plug-in hybrid (test), are the result of this cooperation. Both cars are slightly above Suzuki's usual formats, and heavier.
The Suzuki eWX, a 3.4 -meter short mini SUV that is due to go on sale next year, and the Suzuki eVX, a compact car with a length of 4.3 -meters and optional all-wheel drive, have long been announced. Three more electric cars are to follow. The fact that battery electric cars tend to be significantly heavier due to their heavy batteries is a problem that many manufacturers have long been addressing with consistent lightweight construction. Suzuki will have to do the same. A platform called HEARTECT is intended to ensure that its cars remain lighter – the target is 100 kg –. For this reason, the energy content of the batteries should not exceed 60 kWh.
Petrol engine with 40 percent efficiency
Until a fully electric product range can be offered, the conventional and hybridized combustion engines are to be further developed and, in combination with the new technical basis, become more fuel-efficient. Suzuki gave up the installation of diesel engines a few years ago, one may assume for cost reasons, but of course the use of gasoline engines also reduces the vehicle weight.
The 1.2-liter petrol engine currently used in the Swift model with the designation Z12E achieves a maximum thermal efficiency of 40 percent. This takes it into a range that was recently reserved for diesel engines. In future, all Suzuki models with petrol engines are to be equipped with the Z12E globally, with or without hybridization. In the field of software-defined vehicles (SDV), Suzuki wants to develop a cost-effective system that puts the minimization of energy consumption first.
(fpi)