Amidst the gloom of plunging new car sales in Australia (and the rest of the world), it is possible to find little snippets of positive news. One such example is Suzuki’s announcement today that it remains on track for a sixth successive record sales year.

With a line-up of fun-to-drive, well-built, well-priced and relevant vehicles, it’s the smaller players like Suzuki (in the Australian market) who stand to weather the current economic storm best.

“The Suzuki line-up continues to defy the downward sales trend of all but a handful of manufacturers,” said Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers.

On a year-to-date basis, Suzuki sales are up five percent when compared to 2007, while the total market has dropped three percent in the same timeframe. A total of 20,793 Suzuki vehicles have been sold so far in 2008, compared to 19,816 for the same period in 2007.

“Importantly, Suzuki has not only increased volume but also market share, which is now running at 2.2 per cent.”

The big performers in the Suzuki model range have been the SX4, with sales up by nearly 100 percent, Jimny sales have increased 33 percent, while Grand Vitara sales are up three percent.

As The Insider suggested earlier today, there is some exceptional buying out there for new car shoppers. Suzuki is currently offering drive away pricing on the Swift Sport, Jimny, Grand Vitara and SX4, no-doubt intending to maintain their momentum and top their 2007 sales performance.