Suzuki Motor Corp. said in a statement Friday that Osamu Suzuki, the company's former president and chairman, died on Dec. 25 at the age of 94 after suffering from lymphoma.

Osamu joined Suzuki in 1958 and became the company's president in 1978 until 2000, before taking the presidency again in 2008.

During his decades at the helm of the company, he developed Suzuki into a global enterprise.

Upon his arrival, Osamu led the launch of the Suzuki Alto, which secured the company's position in the light-vehicle market.

In 1983, he facilitated Suzuki's entry into the Indian automobile market by establishing a subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki, which took a significant share of the country's market and made Suzuki the first Japanese manufacturer to enter the Indian market.

Osamu also led the company's strategy of partnering with major overseas automakers, and during his tenure, Suzuki had capital partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen.

However, the company and VW later had a dispute over the dissolution of the capital partnership, which eventually developed into an international arbitration issue.

In 2019, as the then Suzuki chairman, Osamu pushed the company to sign a capital partnership agreement with Toyota.

In February 2021, Osamu announced that he would retire in June of that year, and that his son, Toshihiro Suzuki, would take over to lead the company's transition to electric vehicles.