Japanese automobile maker Isuzu plans to make India as its exporting hub and expects its sales in the country to grow around 60% this year on the back of a strong demand for pick-up trucks in smaller cities and towns.
The company, which has been operating in India for around five years, has been able to scale up its sales to about 5,000 units per year. Ken Takashima, deputy managing director, Isuzu Motors India, told DNA Money that the company intends to scale up the sales fast in the coming years. “We expect to see 50-60% growth in this year,” said Takashima on the sidelines of an event to announce South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes as its brand ambassador.
In the last five years since its entry in India, Isuzu has sold a total of 10,000 vehicles in the country. At present, the company has 35 outlets in different cities across India.
Isuzu, which has its plant manufacturing facility of about 50,000 units in Andhra Pradesh, sells pick-up trucks and an SUV in India. The company officials said that Isuzu's main plant in Thailand takes care of exports to most of the markets globally.
However, they are looking to use India as an export hub for countries which are not served by its Thailand plant, including the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan.
The company's Andhra plant has been producing the D-Max V-Cross pick-up and the MU-X SUV for the personal vehicle segment and the D-Max S-Cab and Regular Cab models for the commercial segment.
Stating that the broader India strategy for Isuzu was to remain on the pick-up platform, J Shankar Shrinivas, vice president for service and customer relations, said, "As pick-up vehicles remain the core of our business we will push it both in lifestyle and commercial segments with various variants."
...& ANALYSIS
- 50-60% Sales growth Isuzu expects in India this year
- 35 Outlets it has across the country
(With inputs from PTI)
