Isuzu Motors expects capacity for D-Max at 300 units per month till 2016

Japanese auto manufacturer Isuzu Motors would have a capacity of manufacturing 300 units per month for its newly launched pick up truck D-Max, for the initial two years, though the company expects a gradual shift in customer preference from small commercial vehicles to pick up trucks, which would increase its opportunity to grow. The capacity would see an increase in next two years, once its new facility in Sri City, in Andhra Pradesh, is ready for operation.

Speaking to the reporters while launching the D-Max range of pick up trucks, Shigeru Wakabayashi, deputy managing director, Isuzu Motors India, said, "Until our new factory becomes operational, we will have a capacity of 300 units of D-Max units a month, in the Hindustan Motors facility in Tamil Nadu. After the facility is ready, we will have a capacity of 50,000 units a year." The company would check with Hindustan Motors for more capacity if the demand for D-Max exceeds the current capacity, said an official.

Launching the pick up trucks in Chennai, Takashi Kikuchi, managing director, Isuzu Motors India said that the Indian pick up truck segment is one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the commercial vehicles segment, accounting to 35 per cnt of the total CV market. "..And we are observing a gradual shift in customer preference from Small Commercial Vehicles to Pick Ups. By 2023, the 1 Tonne pick up segment in India is expected to grow at eight lakh units and become the world's largest pick up market," he said.

Last year, the sales of pick up trucks in a category has exceeded the sales of SCVs, with 2 lakh pick up trucks sold during the year compared to 1.7 lakh SCVs. "In fact, that is the first year the pick up market exceeded the SCV sales," said Wakabayashi. He added that the previous three to four years, SCVs were a popular category and the change last year is a sign of the chagning customer preference towards pick up trucks.

The company is also in talks with various financial institutions to arrange financing options for its customers.

The company, earlier launched MU 7, a sports utility vehicle, which is also assembled in the Hindustan Motors facility at Tiruvallur, Chennai. Since last December, the company has so far sold around 200-300 units of MU 7 in India. It has a capcaity for 200 units per month for this model in the Hindustan Motors facility.

The company, established in August, 2012, in Chennai, has acquired 107 acres of land in Sri City, in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, and began civil works on the proposed manufacturing plant with an expected initial production capacity of 50,000 units a year, which would be ready by early 2016 for commercial production. It would then scale up the production capacity to 1,20,000 units a year with an accumulated investment of Rs 3,000 crore and is expected to generate 2,000-3,000 jobs.

Isuzu Motors India is planning 100 per cent localisation within three years of commencing production in 2016 and aims to open 60 outlets across India by end of 2015-16.