Suzuki opens R&D facility in Wixom, Mich

Automotive Industries, Nov, 2003

Suzuki Motor Corp. opened a new research and development facility in North America, the Suzuki Tech Center, as part of a commitment to making the U.S. market a top priority and keeping tabs on American automotive tastes and preferences. The $3.7 million, 1.5 acre facility in Wixom, Mich., 20 miles northwest of Detroit, is designed to enable Suzuki to more closely follow U.S. power, design and interior and exterior feature trends while continuing its sharp recent improvement in vehicle quality.

Timed to support Suzuki's goal of tripling U.S. auto sales by 2007, the opening of the Suzuki Tech Center comes as the automaker launches nine new vehicles in the next five years. The 19,000-sq.ft, facility will serve as the company's North American center for certification testing, fleet vehicle evaluation, consumer research, product development and other technical work--and is patterned after similar successful R&D facilities in Japan, Asia and Europe.