Suzuki Suspends Swift Production Amidst China’s Changing Rare Earth Export Policies
The Suzuki Swift has been one of the most recognizable and popular urban cars for some time now. The Swift became a standalone model back in 2004 and since then, millions of vehicles have been sold and the model has won numerous awards.
And while Suzuki probably bet on the Swift being its major model in the near future, it seems that the company is experiencing some problems, although we have to say that they are not to blame.
Namely, it seems that Suzuki has halted the production of the Swift amidst some changes in China’s rare earth export policies, thereby creating more issues in an already volatile market.
To be fair, the current state of things is a direct consequence of the U.S. trade war with China, which was initiated by President Trump in hope of achieving a better position for his country, but so far, his plans have more or less backfired.
Not only have these plans been causing chaos on the market, they are also hurting other companies, which have nothing to do with this trade war, as the recent Suzuki example shows.
Namely, as part of the official response to Trump’s decisions, China has decided to restrict the export of rare earth materials, including several rare earth elements and magnets, which are key components for both internal combustion and electric vehicles.
The decision came into effect in April, and Suzuki halted the production of the Swift (excluding the Swift Sport) on May 26, 2025. The company planned to restart production several times, but with the trade issues persisting, it has been pushed back.
At this point, it seems that a partial restart of production could start in the Sagara plant in Japan on June 13, with full production to resume after June 16. This has been confirmed by Suzuki, but we’re still waiting to see if this gets postponed or not.
And while the Japanese company confirmed that the “prospect of parts supply is clearer,” it remains unclear how big of an impact this is going to have on the global car market, especially Europe, where several companies were already forced to shut down production amidst China’s policy changes.
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