The Suzuki Swift began as a marketing and manufacturing rebadge of the Suzuki Cultus a supermini (or subcompact) manufactured and marketed worldwide across three generations and four body configurations—three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and two-door convertible—and using the Suzuki G engine family.
The Swift was marketed in the Japanese domestic market (JDM) as the Cultus and elsewhere as the Suzuki Forsa, Suzuki Jazz, Chevrolet Swift, Chevrolet Sprint and Sprint Metro, Geo and Chevrolet Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Maruti 1000, Holden Barina and Subaru Justy. Versions of the second generation Cultus were also produced until 2007 in India and the car remains in production today in Pakistan.
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini first presented at the 25th Tokyo Motor Show, formally introduced to the Japanese domestic market in 1983 and ultimately manufactured in seven countries across three generations and marketed worldwide under more than a dozen nameplates — prominently as the Suzuki Swift, Geo Metro and Chevrolet Metro.Offered across its lifespan in four body-style variations with engines from the Suzuki G engine family, the Cultus remains in production in Pakistan.
The name Cultus derives from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration."
