Suzuki (cars)
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Japanese maker of small cars, the Swift and Jimny, and compact SUVs.
Suzuki's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2022, and there's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in India is well below a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelter. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2022) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as India and China, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelterShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Suzuki (cars) makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| Hungary | Systematic violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| GermanyUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on battery metals such as cobalt and nickel from mines and smelters where workers, including children, face deadly collapses and explosions, and on aluminium that may come from Xinjiang, where the state forces Uyghur workers into mines and smelters that audits can't reach. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its battery metals to the mine or its aluminium to the smelter, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Suzuki Australia's cars come from India (Jimny, Fronx, eVitara), Japan (Swift) and Hungary (Vitara), per CarExpert; its statement says Suzuki Motor Corporation makes them in Suzuki-owned plants. Suzuki requires suppliers to prohibit forced and child labour and has joined the JaCER remedy platform, but it publishes no smelter list, isn't an IRMA member, and Suzuki Australia says it has yet to trace raw material sources.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Not listed | Suzuki isn't one of the 18 carmakers scored in the Lead the Charge 2026 auto supply chain leaderboard. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Suzuki Australia lodges a modern slavery statement (year to March 2023) saying its parent makes its vehicles in Suzuki-owned factories in Japan, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the USA, with raw material tracing still to come. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium and aluminium auto parts from China as made with forced labour; it doesn't show Suzuki's plants. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Suzuki isn't on the UFLPA Entity List (November 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Lists Suzuki in the Sheffield Hallam 2022 investigation of Uyghur forced labour in car supply chains; Suzuki did not respond. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report named Suzuki among carmakers with supply chain exposure to metals, batteries and parts linked to Uyghur forced labour (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · search the archive | Not knownSuzuki did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's request for a response. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Report: Driving Force: automotive supply chains and forced labor in the Uyghur Region (BHRRC) · search the archive · Sheffield Hallam and NomoGaia (2022) named Suzuki; no response
- Scorecards 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · Suzuki isn't among the 18 carmakers scored
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · Suzuki isn't an IRMA member
- Suzuki Australia modern slavery statement 2023 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Parent makes vehicles in Suzuki-owned plants; raw material tracing not yet done
- UFLPA Entity List (US Department of Homeland Security) · search the archive · Suzuki isn't listed
- How India ties into Suzuki Australia's EV plans (CarExpert) · search the archive · Jimny, Fronx, eVitara from India; Swift from Japan; Vitara from Hungary
Published by Suzuki (cars) or its owner
- Human rights (Suzuki Global) · search the archive · Supplier guidelines ban forced labour; hotline and JaCER platform; no audits or minerals tracing described
Company details
- Owned by
- Suzuki Motor Corporation
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Suzuki (cars) ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/suzuki, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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