Suzuki to sell hybrid in North America in 2011

Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to start selling a hybrid sedan in North America in 2011, using a next-generation system co-developed with General Motors Corp. (GM), according to the Nikkei business daily. The Japanese small carmaker has lagged behind Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in developing environmentally friendly vehicles, and its entry to the hybrid business is likely to fuel a price competition, the Nikkei said. The hybrid system will be installed in Suzuki’s “Kizashi” mid-size sedan, a gasoline version of which is slated to hit the North American market in late 2009. Suzuki has said it was considering a hybrid version of Kizashi for North America, using technology co-developed with GM, which owned as much as 20% of Suzuki until 2006. (August 16, 2009)