Japanese car maker Isuzu which is the latest entrant in the Indian market introduced the Dmax and MU7 SUV. The company is currently studying the market and will launch full fledged operations pan India in a few months.
Currently the company scouting for land to build an assembly to locally produce the products, especially after the increase in excise duties which are now increased from 75% to 100%.
There are also talks of Isuzu with Ford & Hindustan Motors to make use of their assembly plants on a contract basis before the company sets up its operations which is most likely to happen in Andra Pradesh.
Now the chances to join hands with Ford are very slim and makes more sense with Hindustan Motors as the Chennai plant has large amount of unused capacity. Also the Mitsubishi globally has 9.2% stake in Isuzu Motor, and the next gen Dmax and Triton pickup will be built on the same platform.
Mitsubishi which is a small player in the Indian market is helping Isuzu to set-up operations. To add to the confusion, GM is also a global partner with Isuzu, and the Tavera which is sold in India is actually based on the Isuzu Panther which is produced in Indonesia.
India is going to play an important role for Isuzu and it is forecasted to make up for 10% of Isuzu’s global volumes by 2018. With local assembly the Dmax pick-up and MU7 could see a decrease in prices which will help to make the products more competitive in the Indian market.
