Toyota and Suzuki offer similar products, and in some cases, these offerings are indistinguishable from the untrained eye. Sales reports have highlighted a stark difference in sales of these badge-engineered vehicles.
Suzuki has several venerated nameplates in its stable that have garnered a strong following and demand in the local market. Toyota may arguably have a greater number of seasoned nameplates, but it does possess a few badge-engineered vehicles from Suzuki’s lineup namely, the Baleno, Vitz and Ertiga. As nameplates that share many characteristics, sales reports highlight a stark difference in the performance these models have experienced in the past few months.
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In Suzuki’s stables live the Suzuki Baleno, Celerio and Ertiga. These offerings have cemented themselves into the local market as reliable and relatively affordable (when compared to its segment contenders). In March, Suzuki reported that the Baleno sold 581 units while its smaller Celerio counterpart sold 157 units. In April, the firm reported selling 554 units of the Baleno and 182 units of the Celerio. This compared to March, which saw a total sale of 3 573 Suzuki models, and 3 526 units in April.
Contrasting Suzuki’s Baleno and Celerio are Toyota’s Starlet, Vitz and Rumion. These models are based on the Suzuki models, fundamentals of a mutually beneficial partnership between the two Japanese brands.
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In terms of sales, despite being released after the aforementioned models, the Starlet and Vitz have outsold the Baleno and Celerio. In March, Toyota sold 1 276 units of the Starlet model, while in April, the firm sold 1 098 units. As for the Toyota Vitz, the Celerio twin sold 186 units in April, which outsells its Suzuki counterpart by a slim margin despite being a relatively new model. The only Suzuki badged model that managed to best the Toyota lookalike was the family-hauling Ertiga, which managed to sell 67 more than the Toyota counterpart.
Here are the badge-engineered offerings head to head
| Suzuki | Toyota |
| Celerio – 182 | Vitz – 186 |
| Baleno – 554 | Starlet – 1 098 |
| Ertiga – 412 | Rumion – 345 |
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Toyota reported selling a total of 6 855 units in March but fell victim to the overall decline in the industry resulting in the firm selling 5 257 units in April. More than 1/5th of this number is courtesy of the badge-engineered models from the Suzuki partnership. Similarly equipped, both iterations offer good value for money from the respective automakers, Toyota capitalising on a strong reputation as a South African household brand and a larger dealer network that is double the size of Suzuki’s.
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