Hamamatsu City –
Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), which was founded in 1909, has a long history. Who would have thought, the entity which is one of the world’s giant automotive manufacturers started with a young man who made a weaving machine for his mother.
The size of Suzuki can be seen from the profits the company makes. In 2022, Suzuki is recorded as pocketing a net profit of US$ 4.6 trillion yen or around Rp. 483 trillion (exchange rate of 1 yen = Rp. 105). The profits were obtained from all Suzuki companies in the world, both in Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Hungary and Germany.
The size of Suzuki makes the company increasingly appreciate the history of the company which is around 113 years old. All the history of the company is clearly recorded at the Suzuki Plaza Museum located in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
In this museum it is explained that the company started when the founder, Michio Suzuki, set up a weaving machine factory made of wood with a pedal system. The name of the factory at that time was Suzuki Loom Works. Michio himself was still 22 years old at that time.
In this museum it is said that the loom was originally made for his mother. At that time, Michio’s parents worked as cotton farmers. Mother was very happy when she tried the loom for the first time because it made the weaving process very easy.
Suzuki Museum in Hamamatsu City, Japan. Photo: Danang Sugianto/detik.com
Since then, Michio has continued to innovate and his focus is only on making weaving machines that make things easier for users. Coincidentally, at that time Japan was the largest cloth exporting country in the world. This is what makes Suzuki weaving machines popular in Japan.
The history of Suzuki’s development also turns out to be related to Indonesia. Of the many weaving machines that Michio has made, there is a machine specifically for making sarongs. This machine is exported to several countries including Indonesia.
In this museum there are also neat displays of other products that Suzuki has made, such as motorized bicycles, the first motorbikes, the first cars and even the newest and historical vehicles.
For example, there is the Suzuki Power Free, which is a bicycle with a driving engine attached to it. It turns out that this product is the result of innovation from Michio’s son, Shunzo Suzuki. Shunzo, who often uses a bicycle to travel, feels that it would be much better if his bicycle had a powertrain.
Apart from that, there is also the Suzulight which was the first car made by Suzuki in the 1950s. The Suzulight on display is an SL type whose front nose is made like a sedan, but the rear is not elongated. So that the back door can be placed.
This concept meant that the Suzulight SL was not subject to the 15% tax at that time. Because this car is included in the small van category for commercial purposes.
Suzuki Museum in Hamamatsu City, Japan. Photo: Danang Sugianto/detik.com
From the entire history of Suzuki displayed at the Suzuki Plaza Museum, it can be seen that Suzuki has consistently produced and developed compact, light cars and prioritized low emissions in order to be environmentally friendly vehicles.
As on display, the Suzulight was Suzuki’s first car to combine creativity to produce a small, light and affordable car to answer the transportation challenges of its time. The Suzulight was also the forerunner to the birth of the Kei-car category and has become Suzuki’s expertise in creating compact and light vehicles to this day.
Watch the video “First Impressions of the Suzuki XL7 Hybrid: Price Increases Slightly, Technology is More Complete”
(that/lth)
2023-10-28 09:03:37
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