Suzuki has officially halted production at its CAMI joint-venture plant with General Motors for the rest of 2009. Suzuki says it’s committed to the CAMI plant, but will have no use for it for the rest of the year. The Ingersoll, Ontario factory produces the Suzuki XL7 SUV alongside the Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent.
The CAMI plant produced 12,407 XL7 SUVs last year, but has only made 4 units since the start of 2009. Suzuki cites the weak economic climate for the drastic drop off. “It is an America-specific model,” Suzuki spokesman Hideo Kojima told Automotive News. “But since the subprime loan problem, that segment has been hit the hardest. So we decided to suspend it.”
The XL7 hasn’t been canned, but Suzuki wouldn’t comment on when production might resume. However, the Japanese automaker says it is committed to its CAMI joint-venture. “The possibility that CAMI would be forced into closure or a production stop is 120 percent impossible,†CEO Osamu Suzuki said.
The temporary demise of the XL7 leaves the Equator as Suzuki’s lone North American-made product.
