Suzuki to reduce weight of Alto by 100 kg; develop ADAS for Indian roads

Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation aims to cut the weight of its entry hatch Alto by 100 kilograms over the next 10 years as it looks to minimise energy consumption and slash CO2 emissions.

The first-generation Alto weighed 545kg, and its weight increased to 740kg in the seventh generation due to regulatory changes and other demands of the times. With the eighth-generation Alto, Suzuki reduced the weight by 120kg, bringing it back to the level of the Alto from four generations ago.

“We will challenge for further weight reduction of 100kg for 10 years ahead,” says Toshihiro Suzuki, representative director and president, Suzuki Motor Corporation.

Alto was the best-selling car in India for 16 years till 2020.

Suzuki also plans to develop ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) that performs well even in the congested streets of Indian cities.

For ADAS, it is crucial to develop systems that are well-suited to the road and driving conditions of each country to reliably support safe driving, Suzuki says, adding that the unique traffic conditions and congestion in India make it difficult to simply apply Japanese solutions.

India is a key market for Suzuki where its subsidiary Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is the largest carmaker, cornering over 40% market share in passenger vehicles.

As non-fossil energy becomes more widespread, battery electric vehicles will be the ideal solution in terms of energy, the Japanese automobile manufacturer says. “We will bring BEV to the market from next year and promote energy minimisation in electrification as well,” the carmaker says in its technology strategy briefing.

Suzuki says it plans to develop lean-battery electric technologies with the aim of "using the minimum and necessary batteries without excess.”

The carmaker, however, believes that until non-fossil energy becomes fully widespread, hybrid vehicles are the best solution. Suzuki Motor Corporation is developing low-cost hybrid technology for small and lightweight cars with lean battery and enhanced motor output. The current output of mild hybrid cars with 2kW motor will be insufficient in the future, it says, adding that only 10kW motor can make up to about 30% of output.

Suzuki says it aims to deliver the most energy-efficient electric vehicles suited to the country, region, and customer usage, without excessive battery capacity, by developing energy-minimised electric vehicles.

The company's latest high-efficiency engine (Z12E series) was introduced in the new Swift. "This engine achieved a maximum thermal efficiency of 40%, a long-held goal of our engineers," says Suzuki. “In the future, we will expand this high-efficiency engine technology and pursue efficient combustion of CNF fuels such as biogas and bio-ethanol,” says the Japanese carmaker. “We aim to achieve high efficiency by fast combustion and clean exhaust emissions,” it adds.

Suzuki is also developing "SDV (Software Defined Vehicle) right," a system that offers software updates as a best mix of wired and wireless (OTA), ensuring they are not excessive but user-friendly.