Suzuki To Sell Plug-In Hybrid Swift

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Suzuki will finally relent and will offer a plug-in hybrid version of its bestselling Swift hatchback. A lithium-ion battery will power the car for the first 30km (18.6 miles), then a gasoline engine will produce the juice, says The Nikkei [sub].

The plug-in hybrid is expected to cost 500,000 yen ($6,200) more than the regular Swift, with the total price not exceeding 2 million yen ($24,900 – all prices JDM.) Suzuki wants to sell several thousand in Japan first before exporting the plug-in hybrid Swift.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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 11 comments
  • Demetri Demetri on Jun 12, 2011

    Still no definitive word on whether they're going to start selling the Swift in North America. If they're at all serious about the NA market, then they're fools for dragging their feet on this issue. They finally have good competitive products (and in the case of the Swift, uniquely styled), and they're dropping the ball.

  • Kurtamaxxguy Kurtamaxxguy on Jun 12, 2011

    Sounds like Volt - micro. Lotta bucks for a tiny little car. But it'll take driving one to see if the hybrid system is worth it.

    • See 3 previous
    • Demetri Demetri on Jun 12, 2011

      @mcs Volkswagen beat them to the punch. They now own 20% of Suzuki.

  • L'avventura L'avventura on Jun 12, 2011

    One thing that differentiates this Suzuki PHEV from the rest of the PHEVs that are expected to hit the market is that the range-extender engine is a three-cylinder 660cc engine from Suzuki's Kei cars. Very light-weight, dirt cheap, mas produced, and kinda an ideal range extender given the size of this car. Its also an engine that Suzuki excels in. They managed to find a perfect niche for themselves, kei-engines as range extenders. This PHEV has a real chance of being really affordable.

    • R H R H on Jun 13, 2011

      They soooo should have thrown a gsx-r/busa engine in that thing! Aren't those fairly mass produced as well? IIRC I think suzuki sells something like 2M 600-1300cc sportbikes/year. Hm, reading this 2M just of gsx-r might be high....In any case, suzuki has some Gi-normous numbers...http://www.globalsuzuki.com/globalnews/2011/0510b.html

  • YellowDuck YellowDuck on Jun 13, 2011

    Does the comment "then a gasoline engine will produce the juice" imply that this is a series hybrid? i.e., motor generates electricity only?

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