irishcar.com

6 March 2002: A new saloon version of the Suzuki Liana will be launched in Ireland in May, along with the new version of the Suzuki Alto small car.

At the launch of the Liana Sedan in Geneva yesterday, Suzuki Ireland boss Niall O'Gorman told irishcar.com that the car represents the next step in Suzuki's strategy to provide a broad range of vehicles to European customers, and with an increased interest in saloons in the segement, it should be quite popular in Ireland.

The car as seen at Geneva is stylish, roomy and comfortable, and in Ireland will do the business if the pricing is right. Meantime, the new Alto is a significantly better people packager than the one it is replacing, which has for many years been Japan's best-selling domestic car.

"It was at one stage the best-selling car in its segment in Ireland too," Niall O'Gorman recalled, though adding that it was many years ago. He noted that some 20% of Altos are sold with auitomatic transmission.

Suzuki group sales reached 30 million units by the end of 2001, thanks to customers in Europe, said ther company head Mr Ono. "The Alto has been a small best-seller, selling more than 7.3 million units worldwide since its debut in 1979. The new Alto very much meets the needs of our customers in Europe and worldwide."