Suzuki Motor Corp., the nation's top minivehicle maker, on Tuesday reported record group sales of 2.02 trillion yen for fiscal 2002, up 20.8 percent from the previous year.

The company attributed the sharp rise to India-based automaker Maruti Udyog Ltd. becoming a subsidiary and to selling its products under the brand names of Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.

Suzuki, based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, also reduced operating costs, which allowed for bigger profits, company officials said.

Consolidated net profit jumped 38.5 percent to 31.02 billion yen, while consolidated pretax profit surged 51.4 percent to 79.19 billion yen.

Consolidated operating profit stood at 74.2 billion yen, up 26.9 percent.

In volume terms, domestic car sales rose 1.8 percent to 637,000 units. The latter figure can be broken down into 577,000 minivehicles and 60,000 compacts.

This increase was attributed to hit products, including the Swift compact and the Alto Lapin minivehicle.

Overseas sales rose about 13 percent to roughly 1.1 million units.

For fiscal 2003, Suzuki expects to log a consolidated operating profit of 85 billion yen, a consolidated pretax profit of 85 billion yen, a consolidated net profit of 35 billion yen and group sales of 2.12 trillion yen.

Suzuki Chairman Osamu Suzuki said that, to increase sales, the carmaker will reinforce its operations in Europe and North America through partnerships with U.S.-based General Motors Corp. and Italy's Fiat Auto S.p.A.