Suzuki SA Gears Up for 2026

Suzuki SA confirms a busy few months with a number of product improvements and an all-new flagship vehicle launch.

Conversations at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo between us and Suzuki SA representatives suggested that while the year is rapidly heading towards the holidays, the Japanese brand is showing no sign of slowing down.

While final timings are yet to be confirmed, Suzuki SA will be launching an all-new model in the next while. Official confirmation has yet to arrive but we strongly suspect it will be the Suzuki Victoris which we saw up close at Japan’s national motor show this week.

The Victoris is an interesting proposition. With the Suzuki Brezza falling away due to that model no longer being offered for export, there’s a gap in the market between the Fronx crossover and Grand Vitara compact SUV. That said, Suzuki representatives were throwing around the word ‘flagship’ which makes us think that perhaps an entry-level front-wheel driven Victoris would be positioned below the Grand Vitara, and the higher-spec all-wheel drive derivative will be at the top of the family tree.

It shares a number of parts including the platform with its Grand Vitara sibling, but a quick glance at Maruti Suzuki’s websites indicates significantly higher levels of specification. The flagship derivative comes with a digital instrument cluster, panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, powered tailgate, Amazon Alexa voice assistant, and Infinity audio to name but a few.

We had a chance to sit in the Indian-built Victoris and its unmistakably Suzuki. Sound ergonomics, a functional interior with some added premiumness. This is not the first time the brand has tried to plush up a standard car, with the XL6 being a smartly-packaged Ertiga MPV.

In terms of engines, again there’s sharing from the Suzuki Grand Vitara with the 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol on duty. There’s also the mild-hybrid version of this engine. Outputs are around the 76 kW and 137 Nm mark, with customers having the choice of either a 5-speed manual gearbox or automatic transmission.

While the model shown at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show was powered by a flex-fuel powertrain, its unlikely that such would be offered in our market. As for the name, while its not confirmed that it will be offered with that badge, it is interesting to know that Suzuki SA filed paperwork to protect the ‘Victoris’ nameplate back in January 2024, with the approval coming in March 2025.

There will also be significant upgrades and updates to the entire Suzuki lineup over the next few months, particularly in the safety department. We’ve already seen hints of this happening over at Toyota, where the Suzuki-based Urban Cruiser recently gained additional safety content.

Suzuki’s presence at this year’s show was curiously low key, especially when you consider its compatriots went all out. Subaru had no fewer than three concepts unveiled at the show, while Lexus offered two. Toyota repositioned its Century brand to take on Bentley. The previously-unveiled Suzuki Vision e-Sky made a public appearance and given Japan’s love for cute and compact urban mobility, something like this should prove popular.