Suzuki Plans to Keep CAMI

Japanese manufacturer Suzuki said today, through the voice of Gene Brown, American Suzuki's vice president of marketing and public relations, that, despite the difficult economical conditions, it does not plan for now to give up its CAMI joint venture with GM.

"The market has been terrible," Brown was quoted as saying by AP. "But that doesn't mean we're going to withdraw from the venture."

Suzuki announced in May it will halt production at the CAMI plant, due to collapsing sales. Located in Ingersoll, Ontario, the facility was used for the production of the Suzuki XL7 SUV, the only North American-made Suzuki. In addition, GM is building the Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent there.

"It is an America-specific model," says Suzuki spokesman Hideo Kojima at the time. "But since the subprime loan problem, that segment has been hit the hardest. So we decided to suspend it."

Gene Brown's statements come to support those of the company's CEO, who said back in May "the possibility that CAMI would be forced into closure or a production stop is 120 percent impossible. It is a central pillar in the reconstruction plan, so I am not worried about it."

It is unclear at this point when production will be resumed, but it may take a while. First half sales figures for Suzuki in the US fell by some 60 percent, to 22,408 units. In all, North American sales for the Japanese dropped in all by 40 percent.

Suzuki hopes the launch of the Kizashi, detailed earlier today, may add some percentages to those disappointing numbers.