The Cultus retailed under various names globally, notably as the Suzuki Swift. While the Cultus-based Swift was replaced by the Ignis in Europe and Australasia, Japanese models were in fact badged Suzuki Swift—thus debuting the Swift name in that market. The word ignis is Latin for fire.
As a result of a venture project between General Motors ( GM) and Suzuki, the Ignis, from 2001 also formed the basis of the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze sold throughout Japan as a Chevrolet, with Australasian-market versions badged Holden Cruze. From 2003, Suzuki of Europe adopted a lengthened version of the Cruze as the Suzuki Ignis—representing a facelift of the original Ignis. In the same year, Subaru adopted the car as the Subaru G3X Justy, also exclusive to Europe.