Suzuki Profit Falls 46.2% for April-June

Mirroring the predicament faced by its fellow Asian brands Nissan and Kia, Japanese car maker Suzuki saw its profit numbers decrease for the year. But while the two suffered single-digit percent losses, Suzuki saw a massive 46.2 percent drop for the April-June quarter.

Japan's fourth-largest automotive manufacturer posted an operating profit of JPY 62.7 billion (over USD 58.7 million) for the aforementioned quarter, down from JPY 116.5 billion (over USD 109 million) from the same period last year. It was also lower than the JPY 69.09 billion (over USD 64.7 million) forecasted by eight expert analysts.

Despite the loss, Suzuki remained optimistic that its full-year operating profit forecast will reach JPY 330 billion (3.09 billion dollars), up 1.7 percent from the year ended March 2019. Still, it revealed that it may need to adjust its forecasts in the future as it expects sales numbers to be affected by stricter emission standards and slowing economic growth especially in India, its largest market.

Dismal profit growth could impede its ability to invest in and develop lower-emissions vehicles and on-demand transportation services that it needs to survive the technological disruption that is currently changing in the global auto landscape in a major way.

Suzuki has long admitted that it cannot develop electric vehicles and autonomous cars on its own.