Suzuki Hybrid in the US by 2011

Suzuki Kizashi could get a hybrid version in the States by 2010

Suzuki is one of the companies that are planning to assault the United States with an advanced hybrid model and says it could do so by 2011. More importantly, the future hybrid will use a next-generation hybrid powertrain developed with the help of General Motors.

Details on the upcoming model are still unknown for the time being but the Nikkei business daily wrote that a hybrid version of the Kizashi midsize sedan is a very likely scenario. The gasoline-powered Kizashi is projected to hit the North American market later this year.

This could be the first sign that Suzuki will indeed keep its CAMI joint venture with General Motors, in spite of disappointing numbers and rumors the Japanese manufacturer intends to give up the partnership.

"The market has been terrible," Gene Brown, American Suzuki's vice president of marketing and public relations, said in late July, "but that doesn't mean we're going to withdraw from the venture."

As for the Kizashi sedan, the car will be powered by a 2.4l DOHC inline four-cylinder engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission (with a CVT transmission provided as an option). Safety highlights include no less than eight airbags, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) 4, anti-lock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution, projector beam headlamps and a tire pressure monitoring system.

“Now that the production model Kizashi has arrived, we expect the name and the product itself to clearly demonstrate the bold statement this company knew it would be making with the debut of this vehicle, while also simultaneously suggesting what will emerge in the Suzuki lineup as we look ahead to the future,” Kevin Saito, American Suzuki president said in a release in July.