Suzuki to reshuffle quality, manufacturing and India operations in October organization and personnel change
Suzuki Motor Corporation will create new divisions, rename inspection units and reassign senior managers across quality, motorcycle, technology strategy and manufacturing functions on 1 October 2026.
- 10 September 2026
- 1 October 2026
What Happened
Suzuki Motor Corporation announced on 10 September 2026 that it will make a change in organization and personnel as of 1 October 2026. The changes cover Quality Assurance and Inspection, Motorcycle Operations, Technology Strategy and Manufacturing, and include newly established divisions, renamed divisions and transfers of work between functions. The company also changed the responsibility of one managing officer and reassigned managers across biogas operations, quality assurance, technology strategy, manufacturing and production engineering, with several positions based in India.
- Quality Foundation Enhancement Division will be newly established.
- Inspection Division will be renamed as Final Inspection Division.
- Kosai Inspection Division, Sagara Inspection Division, Iwata Inspection Division and Hamamatsu Inspection Division will each be renamed as Kosai Final Inspection Division, Sagara Final Inspection Division, Iwata Final Inspection Division and Hamamatsu Final Inspection Division.
- Motorcycle Development Quality Evaluation Division in Quality Assurance and Inspection will be transferred to Motorcycle Operations.
- Strategic Cost Planning Project in Corporate Planning will be transferred to Technology Strategy and renamed as Product Value & Cost Strategy Division.
- Manufacturing Human Capital Division will be newly established.
- Managing Officer, in charge of manufacturing in India
- Managing Officer, in charge of manufacturing in India, and in charge of manufacturing in Haryana, and in charge of manufacturing, Maruti Suzuki India
- Naohiko Suzuki: Division Manager, Biogas Business Development Division (was Plant Manager, Plant No.1, Kosai Plant).
- Toshiaki Matsumoto: Division Manager in Charge, Biogas Business Development Division (was Division Manager, Biogas Business Development Division).
- Yukinori Ota: Division Manager, Product Value & Cost Strategy Division (was Division Manager, Strategic Cost Planning Project).
- Masayoshi Ueda: Division Manager, Manufacturing Human Capital Division (was Department Manager, Manufacturing Education Department, Manufacturing Operation Management Division).
- Kiyoshi Hariya: President, Suzuki Parts Manufacturing (was Division Manager, Body Assembly Division).
In Quality Assurance and Inspection, Kunihito Asai becomes Division Manager of the new Quality Foundation Enhancement Division after serving as Department Manager of the Quality Reinforcement Promotion Project in the Quality Administration Division, and Nobuyuki Yamane becomes Division Manager in Charge of that division, having held the same in-charge title for the Inspection Division. Tsutomu Hoshi becomes Division Manager of the Final Inspection Division and Aritoshi Hasegawa becomes Division Manager in Charge, both moving from the equivalent Inspection Division roles. Masami Oguri, Yuji Ozawa, Masahiro Tomida and Kyu Noguchi become Division Managers of the Kosai, Iwata, Sagara and Hamamatsu Final Inspection Divisions respectively, after leading the corresponding Inspection Divisions, with Shinji Hasui as Division Manager in Charge at Hamamatsu Final Inspection Division.
- Shinya Takahashi: in charge of manufacturing in Haryana, and Plant Manager, Gurgaon Plant, based in Maruti Suzuki India (was Plant Manager, Manesar Plant, based in Maruti Suzuki India).
- Toshihiro Kubo: Plant Manager, Manesar Plant, based in Maruti Suzuki India (was Plant Manager, Gurgaon Plant, based in Maruti Suzuki India).
- Hiroyuki Kinpara: Division Manager in Charge, based in Suzuki Motorcycle India (was President, Suzuki Parts Manufacturing).
- Masahiko Watanabe: Plant Manager, Powertrain Plant, Hansalpur Plant, based in Maruti Suzuki India (was Plant Manager, Engine/Outboard Motor/KD Plant, Kosai Plant).
- Takeshi Nabekura: Division Manager, Body Assembly Division (was Department Manager, Assembly Management Department, Body Assembly Division).
Suzuki Motor Corporation issues its notice regarding change in organization and personnel.
The announced organizational and personnel changes take effect.
Previously from Suzuki Motor Corporation
Suzuki has been expanding its biogas and India operations in recent weeks. On 26 August 2026 it inaugurated its third biogas plant in Gujarat, India, converting cattle dung into fuel for CNG vehicles, and on 28 August 2026 it reported record global production and sales for July 2026, driven by record Indian output and demand.
- Suzuki Opens Third Biogas Plant in India to Fuel CNG Vehicles
- Suzuki hits record global production and sales in July 2026 on India strength
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Suzuki Motor Corporation's official releases.
Why this matters
This is an internal reorganization and management reshuffle at Suzuki, effective 1 October 2026. It affects the managers named in the notice and the units they lead, including several roles based in India at Maruti Suzuki India and Suzuki Motorcycle India, plus a new biogas business development leadership team. New divisions are created and several existing ones are renamed or transferred between functions.
Terms in This Story
- Managing Officer
- A senior executive title used at Japanese companies for an officer responsible for a specific function, business or region.
- Biogas
- A fuel gas produced by breaking down organic matter such as animal waste, which can be used to power vehicles.
- KD Plant
- A plant where vehicles are assembled from knock-down kits, meaning sets of parts shipped in from another location.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.