Japan's Suzuki aims to cut vehicle weight of key model by 15% over a decade

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Suzuki Motor said on Wednesday it plans to cut the weight of its small Alto hatchback by 15% over the next decade, aiming to reduce the vehicle's energy usage and employ those technology gains in other models.

The Alto currently weighs 680 kg and the company hopes to lower that by 100 kg.

"If a vehicle is heavy, we also have to make the battery and motor larger to get a long range and good performance," Tatsuya Matsushita, an executive in charge of Suzuki's automotive technology said.

Smaller motors and batteries would likely allow Suzuki to lower the price of its models, he said at an event on the automaker's tech strategy.

Suzuki also said it is working to develop software and advanced-driver assist technologies it hopes will help reduce traffic jams on congested roads in, for example, India, a key market for the automaker.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)