So why have VW bought a stake in Suzuki?
I remain a little nonplussed at the news of Volkswagen buying a stake in Suzuki. Just as they're on the verging of completing an inexplicably complicated deal with Porsche (don't mention the takeover, I did it once but I think I got away with it...besides, I think VW won) they blindside us with this little Monopoly manoeuvre. Has no-one told them there's a recession on? Did they land on Free Parking whilst I was in the toilet?
I have a theory they were after a different sort of cappuccino maker. So, they have connections to car sales in Japan and India, but are VW really that desperate to climb the rankings? They're already the biggest car seller in China - maybe this deal is a shot across the bows of Renault-Nissan, poised to take over the world with their cheap cars from Dacia.
Quite where Suzuki will fit into the Volkswagen family is another matter altogether - perhaps VW have a taste for dodgy-looking 4x4s now they've got the Cayenne amongst the relations.
