Suzuki to expand production capacity for Alto Eco mini-car

Suzuki Motor Corp. said it plans to expand production capacity for the engine used in the Alto Eco mini-car, which is considered the best among mass-produced gasoline-powered vehicles in the market. Suzuki said that the engine will be used in all its mini-vehicles in the next three years and production capacity of the engine will be expanded up to four times to 400,000 units a year, beginning in the spring of 2012. The company plans to invest an estimated 6 billion yen (US$78.2 billion) for the construction of a new engine production unit at its plant in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, in Japan, which will have a capacity of 300,000 units a year. (December 21, 2011)