Suzuki Motor Corporation has just founded new production facilities in the Phillipines in an investment of 2.1 billion Yen - about 19 million euros. The new Phillipines motorcycle production plant will start operating in June 2012 under the Suzuki Phillipines Incorporated business. It’s SMC’s production branch for the country and originally started production back in 1985.

The new plant should increase Suzuki’s production from the 85,000 units made from April 2010 to March 2011 and give it a larger share of the Phillipines motorcycle market, which registered 760,000 units in 2010. That’s a year-on-year growth of 19 percent. Suzuki’s new production plant will have a capacity of about 200,000 units a year.

With news that Honda is expanding its production in Vietnam, developments that could lead Bajaj to a 49 percent stake in KTM and Yamaha pulling out of the world Superbike championship - following Ducati in 2010 and Kawasaki from the MotoGP in 2008, it seems that it could be Asia to save the world motorcycle markets at this stage. Bajaj and KTM have managed a joint production effort with the KTM 125 Duke, but where are the high profile Asian riders (not just from Japan) and more joint product development…?

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Suzuki Motor Corporation is planning to develop its operations base in Japan, where the company headquarters is, to build new infrastructure required to support the future product plan and to move production away from the coast. After the natural disasters that hit Japan this year, it’s a sensitive issue and one that the Japanese economy desperately needs resolved if it’s to continue to grow.

A new Motorcycle Technical Center is being built, as is a Miyakoda Technical Center. The latter will function as a centre for research and development of new engines and new types of eco-sustainable and environmental vehicles. Some motorcycle research and development will take place here with Iwata City operations being transferred.

It will also be the site for Suzuki’s Electrical Vehicles and HEV (Hybrid Electrical Vehicles), and moving to the new facilities will take place by 2016. A Miyakoda Plant will be responsible for the construction of new motorcycle engines and parts. Full production will take place from 2017, and Suzuki will also take on redevelopment of its facilities for local market production when the new facilities are up and running. There is something to admire in the Japanese spirit and the international motorcycle market needs these players to keep it vibrant.

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