As of 2003, the smaller Suzuki Vitara has been withdrawn from the North American market. Sales were slow, with just 4,860 sold in 2004 for the United States. In Canada, sales were strong. All North American Vitaras were built at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, while the North American Grand Vitaras were built in Japan, where it is the Suzuki Escudo. The 2006 model has had a structural redesign with a new ladder-boxed chassis integrated into a unibody construction. In India, it is sold as a Maruti competing with vehicles like the Tata Safari, Ford Endeavour and Honda CR-V.
The Grand Vitara was replaced in the fall of 2005 by a new vehicle using some components of the GM Theta platform, and is built in Japan. The 2006 Grand Vitara was developed independently by many of the same Suzuki engineers who developed the Theta. Although it uses some Theta componentry, especially in the suspension, it is quite different and should not be considered a Theta vehicle. Notably, it uses a longitudinally-mounted engine and is rear-wheel drive with a 103.9 in (2639 mm) wheelbase, while all other Theta vehicles are transverse engined with front-wheel drive as the default. All can also be ordered with all-wheel drive as well, however. The forthcoming Suzuki XL7 will be a true Theta vehicle, and will be built alongside the Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. The 2001 model Suzuki Grand Vitara comes standard as a 2.0 Liter 4WD vehicle in New Zealand. The 2005 and onwards Grand Vitara is sold in Ecuador by Chevrolet, yet it still retains it's Suzuki badges.
