Suzuki is a very late entrant in the Indian two wheeler sector. But late is as relative a term as old and it doesn't matter five years down the line when the market is even more mature. However what I am really perplexed by is Suzuki's attitude to the market.
Those bunch of Japs are not just serious enuff!!
Having got the exclamation marks out of the way, its down to the serious stuff now. First, the Zeus and Heat may or may not be good enough for the Indian market or for taking on the Bajaj Discover and Honda Shiine but Suzuki's marketing strategy (or the lack of it) is just not geared to take on anyone. Not even LML...
Suzuki's project, intended to see the light of the day in 2004, became operational only in 2006. The delay meant that dealers, some of whom were first time entrepreneurs, lost out heavily. The launch of the two bikes, which was delayed by many hiccups, is itself half-hearted. The media campaign has been meagre and many of the dealers have resorted to their individual marketing schemes as they see no hope from the company. To top it all, Suzuki did not even foot the bill for the corporate advertising at the dealer's end.
The company's handling of media has been childish as well. While both the Heat and Zeus are in the market, none of the enthusiast magazines has been able to do a road test on them. Me? I don't even know whom to call up in Suzuki for the bikes or even their board numbers!
This coming from guys essentially reporting to the same set of Japs running Maruti-Suzuki is a bit of a nasty surprise.