The slow-selling Suzuki Burgman could be replaced with a new ‘urban mobility’ model in the coming months as the manufacturer looks to phase the scooter out in the face of tightening emissions regulations.
The scooter has long struggled in the face of similar rivals from Japanese rivals Honda and Yamaha which make up a large portion of the market in Europe with their PCX and NMax models, as well as myriad of scooters from the Piaggio Group.
Now with looming regulations pressing for manufacturers to upgrade their models to meet Euro5 standards, some less popular models are seemingly under threat from the axe instead of going through the expense of re-developing engines.
That is the fate awaiting the Burgman according to Suzuki France’s Guillaume Vuillardot, who told Moto-Station that only the Burgman 400 will be updated with ‘other types of vehicle to replace’ the model.
“What I can say for the moment is that Suzuki will completely revise its strategy in terms of vehicles dedicated to the commute. Our entire commuting strategy in terms of scooters will be reviewed.
“For the moment, I can say that some vehicles will indeed disappear and others will arrive… The Burgman 400 will continue. It will be adapted to Euro5. And indeed, the rest of the range will stop and we will have other types of vehicles to replace.”
Quite what ‘other types’ alludes to is open to interpretation but a growing shift towards what is termed ‘urban mobility’ suggests Suzuki could rethink its strategy in this area. Central to this would presumably be developing electric models, with numerous zero tailpipe emissions scooter companies popping up in Europe over the last couple of years to put a pinch on sales of traditional offerings.
For now, the Burgman 400 will continue to ensure Suzuki has an offering in the still crucial scooter market but perhaps not for long in its current form…
