A total of 2,287 Suzuki vehicles were sold last month, far surpassing the 1,878 record set in 2007 and lifting Suzuki sales a remarkable 21 per cent ahead of the same time last year.

“May continues the fantastic sales results for Suzuki despite being in a month when the market has had some adverse economic news,” said Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers.

“Retails were strong across the Suzuki range with SX4, APV, Jimny Sierra and Swift all recording one of their best ever monthly sales results.”

“Once again our fantastic value for money and the Sensational Suzuki Saturday sales event proved a winner for the brand, with dealers all around the country reporting their most successful sales figures to date.”

Backed by a highly competitive drive-away campaign, Devers says the SX4 proved to be the company’s biggest winner with an impressive 460 per cent increase in sales for the month of May, the best improver by far in the small car segment for monthly and year to date figures.

“The SX4 is attracting increased interest from consumers looking for an economical 2.0L, value-packed car for less than $20,000. With our highly competitive pricing we anticipate continued success moving forward.”

The Swift – buoyed by the release of a limited edition RE2 model – remains the third biggest selling model in the light car segment with 1,254 sales in May, representing a 13 per cent share of the total light car buyer market.

The introduction of the value-add Trekker pack to the Jimny Sierra SUV was a significant factor in the model recording its best sales result in almost a decade whilst, Devers added, the APV continues to hold strong in the competitive commercial van segment with an impressive 79 per cent lift in sales year to date.

The award-winning Grand Vitara range also registered strong sales success and continues to be an attractive package for customers looking for the ideal balance in on and off-road manners.

Devers said he expects this momentum to continue into June with a sharp retail campaign in place to capture a significant share of the end-of-financial-year buyers.

“We have introduced drive-away pricing across the Grand Vitara range which now, more than ever, ensures the compact SUV is one of the best value four-wheel drives on the market.”

Drive-away pricing applies to all models with Grand Vitara 3-door from $23,990 (manual), Grand Vitara 2.0L from $28,990 (manual) and Grand Vitara 2.7L V6 with alloys from $29,990 (manual). The turbo-diesel and Prestige variants also make the drive-away cut with pricing from $34,990 and $36,990 respectively.

Great deals continue across the Suzuki brand with free cruise control and extended 5 year warrantly on all Swift models, drive-away deals on the SX4 two wheel drive and all wheel drive variants and extra-value Trekker pack continuing on the original, rugged Jimny Sierra.

Devers said “we anticipate an extremely strong month in June as we continue to build on the success already enjoyed throughout 2008.”

“With an almost 14 per cent increase in year to date figures so far, we are confident of further growth in all competing segments as we work to achieve record sales for the 2008 calendar year”.