The Japanese carmaker Isuzu is already selling commercial vehicles in India under the badge ‘Swaraj Mazda’. But as of now we got the news that Isuzu is planning to enter the passenger vehicle segment as well and that too individually. Though the company hasn’t made an official announcement, but the testing of SUV MU7 and single cabin pick-up D-max in India made us more confident.
The testing of MU7 was caught some days ago but we didn’t bring it to you, because we were on shaky grounds. In the latest when we saw the Isuzu testing D-Max on the Indian tarmac, our perception became clear.
One seeing the images, we can say that, the MU7 and D-Max shares the same platform. Yet there is no revelations about the powertrain, but we expect that Isuzu testing D-Max will sport a 2.5 litre turbocharged diesel engine, yielding a power of 115bhp. We also expect power steering and an air-conditioned cabin for the Pick-up.
The Isuzu testing D-Max will pose as a competitor to Mahindra Genio and the Tata Xenon.
Though the Isuzu is collaborated with Swaraj Mazda, as said above, the company is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh Government to set up a separate plant for the passenger vehicles. A team has been dispatched by the company to India, to fulfill the legal formalities. As heard from the sources, Isuzu will invest a whopping amount of Rs.1,000 crore in the production facility, and will see an annual production of 10-12 million units. The plant will start the full-fledged production in 2014-2015.
As expected, both the Isuzu models will enter India through Thailand in the form of SKD kits.
People may be wondering about the performance of the Isuzu in the Indian shores and also speculating what to expect from the Japanese in terms of passenger car segments?
The answer is simlple! Chevrolet Tavera is the rebadged model of the Isuzu SUV ‘Panther’, and the Isuzu is also supplying diesel engine to the Indian politician’s limousine ‘Ambassador’.
Isuzu has been successful on both counts till date and we have a lot of expectations in the future as well.
Image Courtesy –www.autocarindia.com
