Osamu Suzuki, the man behind India's Maruti dreams passes away

Osamu Suzuki, the man behind India's automobile revolution and the former chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, passed away at 94. The company confirmed in a statement that his cause of death was lymphoma.  

Suzuki led the Japanese automobile company for almost four decades and betted on India to become a major automobile player even when the country was a closed economy. 

He joined the Suzuki Motor Corporation in 1958 and rose to become the president in 1978. Osamu Suzuki had a key interest in expanding the company in the global economy, especially in India. He forged a partnership with the Indian Government in 1982 to establish the Maruti Udyog- which launched the Maruti 800. The car became a symbolic identity to the aspirations of India's middle class. This launch also changed the fate of India's automobile industry. 

Maruti Udyog later on became Maruti Suzuki India after the Government's exit from the company in 2007. As of 2024, Maruti Suzuki's market share in India's passenger vehicle retail sales is around 40%.

“Without his vision and foresight, his willingness to take a risk that no one else was willing to take, his deep and abiding love for India, and his immense capabilities as a teacher, I believe the Indian automobile industry could not have become the powerhouse that it has become,” Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) Chairman, R C Bhargava said on the passing of Suzuki.