Illustrious Japanese industrialist and the longest-serving head of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Late Osamu Suzuki, has been posthumously awarded India’s second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan. He passed away on December 25, 2024, at the age of 94. His son, Toshihiro Suzuki, who currently heads the Japanese automobile giant, received the award on behalf of his late father from Hon’ble President Draupadi Murmu during the annual Padma awards conferment ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. Osamu Suzuki is now the seventh-ever person to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously, and has also become the third Japanese citizen to have been bestowed with this honour. Hosei Norota, who served as the Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency from 1998-99 was awarded the honour in 2001 followed by Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister (across his two terms of 2006-07 and 2012-20) Shinzo Abe, who received the award in 2021. Osamu Suzuki now holds the distinction of being the only Japanese citizen to have been awarded two civilian honours by India as he was bestowed with the Padma Bhushan in 2007.
People unfamiliar with the man himself might be unaware of the magnitude of his contributions to the growth, development and progress of our nation. To put it simply, Late Osamu Suzuki was instrumental in setting up the joint-venture of Suzuki Motor Corporation with the Government of India backed Maruti Udyog Limited back in 1982, which led to the establishment of Maruti Suzuki. This Indo-Japanese collaboration revolutionised the then-barebones Indian automobile manufacturing industry by bringing in the latest technology, innovation and manufacturing practices in line with global standards. However, more importantly, this gave us Indians our very first reliable, yet affordable car; the Maruti Suzuki 800, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Maruti Suzuki 800, often called just Maruti 800 or 800, was a humble city car which kickstarted the modernisation of the Indian automobile market in earnest. Owning a Maruti 800 was the first taste of a truly global automobile for most Indians and notably, helped us build trust upon foreign companies. These small, economical cars gave fierce competition to the products of other foreign automakers who entered the country post the liberalisation of our economy and also inspired homegrown manufacturers to build better vehicles. The Maruti 800’s sheer domination in India’s car market remains unmatched as it was the bestselling car in India for nearly four decades, from 1985 to 2004!
Maruti Suzuki, which was later taken over wholly by Suzuki Motor Corporation in 2007 and re-branded as Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) had initially started operations in 1983 with the manufacturing capacity of one lakh units per annum. Under the direct and visionary stewardship of Late Osamu Suzuki, the company emerged as arguably the most important manufacturing arm of Suzuki Motor Corporation outside of Japan and by 2024, more than 30 crore Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki-branded vehicles have been manufactured by the company. Out of these, nearly three crore vehicles have been exported globally and MSIL currently contributes to around 43 percent of the total passenger vehicle exports from India. Annual production capacity of the company has grown to a whopping 20 lakh units.
Maruti Suzuki’s erstwhile catchphrase “India comes home in a Maruti Suzuki” richly captures decades of history and aptly signifies just how deeply ingrained the ‘Suzuki’ name is in the very fabric of Indian society. The fact that MSIL continues to command a majority share (as of the 43.2 lakh vehicles sold so far in India during FY2025, 17.6 lakh came from Maruti Suzuki, which translates to over 40 percent market share) in the Indian automobile market to this day is a testament of Indians’ continued trust in and profound respect for Suzuki San’s legacy, which has only been re-affirmed with this latest honour being conferred upon him by our grateful nation.
