SJ413 is Number One

There’s a bit of genuine Suzuki history tucked away in Christchurch in the shape of an SJ413, with the rather impressive chassis number NZ000001.

It was the very first SJ built at the South Pacific Suzuki Assembly Plant in Wanganui, on 13 December 1984, and one of only three new SJ413 units built before Christmas. Main production started more than a month later, on 28 January 1985. Because it was built early, the ID plates hadn’t arrived and Suzuki assemblers had to use SJ410 plates instead. If you look carefully, you’ll see the plate shows a 970 cc ratings instead of the actual 1324 cc.

The SJ takes us straight back to the days when Suzukis were CKD built in Wanganui. CKD stands for ‘complete knock down’, which means the vehicle is assembled locally using parts, components and technology imported from the overseas manufacturer. The alternative is CBU, or ‘complete build up’, which is how Suzukis arrive on our shores these days.

This historic example of SJ history was first registered on 12 February 1985, with plate number LZ380. It’s had two owners and has done 94,080 km.