Suzuki Auto South Africa has released a statement saying that it has placed “a general freeze” on all vehicle prices, adding that it will not participate in the “customary fourth quarter industry price hikes”.
This comes after the local arm of the Japanese automaker announced that it would include an extended five-year or 200 000 km warranty on every passenger vehicle it sold until the end of 2017.
“Whether one looks at the consumer confidence index or at general economic growth, it is clear that consumers are feeling the pinch. With that in mind, we decided to squeeze as much value into our price and warranty offering as possible,” said André Venter, divisional head for sales and marketing at Suzuki Auto SA.
Suzuki claims that many of its competitors have already raised their prices, but insists that it will hold out as it chases a new local sales record.
“It is truly heartening to see our hard work and long-term planning pay dividends in 2017,” said Venter.
“For instance, in August Suzuki welcomed 1 004 customers into the fold – a new record – which we see as the most relevant recognition of our pricing and value strategy.”
