Get ready for price rises, warns Suzuki boss

Suzuki Queensland expects the Australian Government’s new emissions regulations will force it to increase prices.

“I can’t see there’s anyway around it. I can’t see anybody really having a way around it,” Suzuki Queensland general manager Paul Dillon told CarExpert.

“Tesla might be exempt, but the amount of demand for EVs versus a standard ICE [internal combustion-engined] vehicle or hybrid, I would say in 2026 most hybrid cars aren’t going to achieve the emission target the government is setting currently.

“I don’t know whether the government thinks businesses are printing money, but it’s all got to be paid for somewhere.”

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Mr Dillon cited the example of the Reserve Bank’s plan to remove credit and debit card surcharges, arguing this will just see businesses raise the price of products.

He said the penalty set to be imposed on the new Suzuki Fronx – a light SUV with a mild-hybrid four-cylinder powertrain – under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is set to be “north of $500” next year.

It emits 113g/km of CO2, and the limit for Type 1 vehicles – which includes passenger cars, and all SUVs bar “heavy off-road passenger” models – next year will be 117g/km.

But Suzuki won’t be alone in raising prices, predicts Mr Dillon.

“Whilst our cars will most likely increase in price with penalties, so will the whole market increase in price with penalties,” he said.

“I heard that Ford… increased the price of the Mustang. I would think $5000 is probably the tip of the iceberg of what the penalties might be on that car.

“But if you do some rough numbers on the formula that the government’s handing out, $100 a gram… it extrapolates out to a lot of money very quickly.”

ABOVE: Vitara Hybrid, eVitara

Suzuki Queensland will pay its own penalties for exceeding CO2 targets, instead of being lumped in with Suzuki Australia which manages vehicle distribution for all of Australia bar the Sunshine State and Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

And unlike many rival brands, it won’t have a deep pool of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles to help it offset the emissions of its other vehicles and therefore prevent it from exceeding CO2 targets.

Suzuki Queensland has ruled out offering a full hybrid version of its Vitara in the Sunshine State, despite this vehicle being locked in for a first-quarter 2026 launch by Suzuki Australia.

It also stopped short of locking in the electric eVitara, though Mr Dillon said “it’s certainly our intention [to release it] assuming the numbers from Japan stack up”.

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