Suzuki R3 Concept Proposal for a Six-Passenger Compact MPV Debuts at New Delhi Auto Show

This year's Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, is turning out to be a crowd puller as many automakers chose the show to unveil an array of concept and production models designed with the domestic market in mind. Maruti Suzuki took the covers off the R3, a Compact Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) that was penned at the firm's Research and Development Department in India.

Despite its compact size, the futuristic looking concept model can accommodate a total of six passengers in three rows of seats. Suzuki didn't release any more details on the R3, but it has been speculated that the concept model may base a production version in the very near future.

Suzuki Alto Dresses Like a Fish for International Green Week Fair in Berlin

Being the only car manufacturer that will participate at the forthcoming International Green Week in Berlin, Suzuki wants to make a splash at the fair with a custom made Alto. The Japanese automaker covered its mini car in a vinyl wrap (or at least it looks like a wrap) with a design that imitates fish scales and to top it off, they also added a... tail fin. Billed as the world's largest fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, the International Green Week runs from January 15 to 24 in Berlin.

Tokyo '09: Suzuki Showcases Swift Plug in-Hybrid and SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki exhibited its latest 'green' concept studies for the future including a Swift with Plug-in Hybrid and an SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV). The hybrid version of the Swift is a supermini aimed at city dwellers that travel around 20 km (about 13 miles) a day and has been designed to be driven primarily on electric power.

It is equipped with 600cc engine that is used to charge a lithium-ion battery that powers an electric motor if capacity level drops. The batter can also be charged through any domestic plug socket.

Suzuki did not release any performance or fuel economy figures nor did it say if it intends to produce the Swift Plug-in Hybrid in the future.

The other 'green' study on display at Suzuki's Tokyo Motor Show booth is the is the SX4 FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) which combines a General Motors-sourced high performance fuel cell with a Suzuki developed high pressure hydrogen tank and a compact capacitor that is used to recover energy during braking and using it to reduce fuel cell loading under acceleration.

The SX4 FCV is currently under test on public roads in Japan as Suzuki plans to to commercialize the car in the near future.

Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

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Suzuki SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle

Tokyo '09: New Suzuki Alto Concept Points to Production Model

Strangely enough, and even though the latest generation Suzuki Alto, which is also marketed in some regions including Europe as the Nissan Pixo with a different nose job, was introduced only last year at the 2008 Paris show, the Japanese firm has announced that it will display a near-production concept model of the next generation Alto at the forthcoming Tokyo Motor Show in late October.

The only reasonable explanation (since Suzuki did not bother to clear things up for us in its press release...) is that the production model of the "concept Alto" is destined for markets other than the ones that the current Alto is offered including of course Japan.

Tokyo '09: Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid with a Volt-like Drivetrain

Attending the Tokyo Motor Show, or any international auto show for that matter, without having at least one hybrid prototype model at your stand is almost unthinkable nowadays for any mainstream automaker. The Suzuki brand will display a plug-in hybrid concept version of its successful MINI Swift supermini that features a drive system that works in a similar way to the one used on GM's Chevy Volt.

The hybrid drivetrain of the Suzuki Swift Concept combines a small displacement gasoline engine with an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. The concept car is designed primarily to be driven only on electric power.

For short distances, the electric motor is powered by the battery that's charged from a household mains socket. If the battery runs low, then the gasoline engine kicks in not to move the vehicle but to power a generator that in turn charges the battery.

Being a concept an all, Suzuki touched up the Swift Plug-in Hybrid with a different headlight treatment and new wheels on the outside, and a set of lightweight front seats with net-like surfacing and special trim on the inside.