Next Wagon R+ planned at Suzuki's Hungary plant
Output will rise to 300,000 units in three years

By Luca Ciferri
Automotive News Europe / September 19, 2005

Suzuki will build the next-generation Wagon R+ small minivan at its plant in Esztergom, Hungary.

The small minivan currently is built by General Motors in Gliwice, Poland. GM subsidiary Opel sells a version as the Agila.

The addition of the Wagon R+ in 2008 will boost the Esztergom plant's output to 300,000 units. Reaching that level will require Suzuki to add a third shift.

The Wagon R+ is the second of two products being added at Esztergom. By the end of this year, the plant will start to build an SUV named Aerio. Suzuki will supply variants of the Aerio to Fiat and Lancia.

Matiz-derived Agila

The Esztergom plant now builds the Ignis small wagon and Swift small car. Production totaled 111,000 in 2004. Suzuki expects output this year to rise to 140,000 units.

Suzuki spent E237 million last year and is spending E197 million this year on the plant to expand production. Output should reach 220,000 units a year in 2006 with the plant running two shifts.

Through the first seven months of this year, Opel sold 22,463 Agilas in western Europe, while Suzuki sold 11,610 units of the Wagon R+, according to JATO Dynamics.

General Motors will derive the next-generation Agila from the Matiz minicar, which is built in Korea.

Suzuki plans to sell 240,000 units in Europe this year, compared with 230,000 units in 2004.

The Japanese automaker plans to reach 350,000 sales by 2008. In addition to 300,000 vehicles built in Hungary, Suzuki plans to import 50,000 units from Japan and India.