Suzuki wants it shares back, now thank you. That’s the message from Suzuki HQ, which has recently begun arbitration proceedings against Volkswagen, the owner of 19.9% of Suzuki since 2009.
Since then, relations between the two giants have soured a good deal. The share deal was part of a wider agreement that would give VW access to the Indian marketplace (in which Suzuki is a very big player) and give Suzuki access to some of VW’s new technologies. But things haven’t turned out as planned, and no projects between the two firms have ever taken off.
Apparantly, the main sticking point for the deal to work properly was the decision taken by Suzuki to order diesel engines from Fiat, for a model of car that was to be built in Hungary; VW said this breached the terms of the original deal. Suzuki, in turn, stated that VW had not shared any of its technology with the firm.
Suzuki now wants VW to dispose of its shares to either itself, or its designated third party – a demand that Volkswagen says has "no legal foundation".
Mergers and partnerships of this kind are quite often very effective ways for car companies to further their expansionist aims, and this deal may have looked like it was primed for success. Suzuki, with its Indian subsidiary Suzuki Maruti, has been largely credited with bringing about the Indian automotive revolution.
While the Indian car may have a reputation in the west for suffering from a car breakdown a little more than some European or American cars, the truth is that while simple, cars such as those built by Suzuki Maruti are actually very reliable – and VW is likely to have missed out on a powerful partner that operates in one of the biggest emerging economies on Earth.
Breakdown Cover from 
