Suzuki announces turbocharged Swift for SA

Suzuki Auto South Africa will introduce its first turbocharged engine in 2019. Utilising direct injection and a turbo with intercooler among a raft of systems and engine items for optimised combustion, Suzuki’s BoosterJet engine is claimed to reduce fuel consumption with boosted power.

The 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine will feature in the new Suzuki Swift Sport. It develops 103kW and 230Nm and is reported to return a fuel consumption figure of 6.1l/100km The new engine forms part of a busy onslaught from Suzuki SA which included the recent introduction of the popular Jimny compact SUV.

Other product news in the Suzuki pipeline are upcoming upgrades to the Vitara SUV, the Ertiga MPV and the Ciaz compact sedan, while the company will do all it can to increase availability of the Suzuki Jimny which currently has a long waiting list.

The introduction of the Jimny late last year helped Suzuki SA sell 12,123 units in 2018, officially entering the top 10 best seller bracket for the first time. December sales of the company’s 10-product line up were boosted by 419 Swift, 118 Ignis crossover and 101 units of little Celerio hatch. The new Jimny found 113 new homes in the same month.

This growth is well over 30% in a year where SA’s new-vehicle market declined by 1%.

“We are particularly proud of the fact that the major part of our sales – 9 375 units – came from dealer sales,” says André Venter, divisional manager for sales and marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa. “This means that our growth is driven by private buyers who choose the brand and not by large corporate transactions that simply boost sales numbers.”