BackIsuzu enters India’s pick-up truck market with D-Max range
Priced upwards of `6.19 lakh, Isuzu targets the vehicle for applications in agriculture, retail, dairy, engineering, manufacturing, small business owners
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Mumbai: Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Ltd, the local arm of the Japanese auto maker, entered India’s pick-up truck market with its D-Max range, one of the largest selling light trucks globally.
Priced upwards of ₹ 619,000 (ex-showroom Mumbai), Isuzu targets the vehicle for applications in agriculture, retail, dairy, engineering, manufacturing and small business owners besides individual buyers, Takashi Kikuchi, managing director, Isuzu Motors India said on Tuesday.
The company is currently importing the vehicles from Thailand and getting the knocked down kits assembled at Hindustan Motors Ltd’s (HML) facility near Chennai with which it has a contract manufacturing agreement. HML is also contract assembling knocked down kits of Isuzu’s sports utility vehicle MU-7 at its facility.
Isuzu will start local production of the vehicles once its own manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh goes on stream in 2016.
The first global auto maker to launch the pick-up truck in the Indian market, Isuzu plans to sell 300 units per month in the initial phase of the launch. Currently, the 200,000 per annum pick-up truck market in India comprises offerings from Tata Motors Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd.
“In India, the pick-up truck segment is one of the largest and fastest growing segments in commercial vehicles, accounting to 35% of the total commercial vehicle market," said Kikuchi.
Isuzu plans to open 60 outlets across India by end of 2015-16. At present, the company has is present in all four states in South India with dealerships in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Madurai, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Cochin.
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