Japanese utility and commercial vehicles major Isuzu Motors on Wednesday inaugurated its manufacturing facility located in SriCity (Andhra Pradesh), 50 km from Chennai. Set up with an estimated investment of R3,000-crore, the facility will cater to both domestic as well export markets. The plant was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Marking the inauguration, the company rolled out its first product – an adventure utility vehicle called D-Mad V-Cross, targeted at adventurers in India as well other utility and commercial categories. The vehicle comes with a localisation of 70%, to be increased to 100% in phases based on the vendors’ supply of critical parts.
The company, which currently sells MU-7, a sports utility vehicle as well as D-Max pick ups through a contract manufacturing tie-up with Hindustan Motors at latter’s Tiruvallur plant near Chennai, henceforth will make D-Max UV at its plant while continuing to outsource MU-7 with Hindustan Motors, a CK Birla group company, said Masanori Katayama, president, Isuzu Motors, Japan.
“In the last two years through a tie up with Hindustan Motors, the company had sold around 3,000 units of both MU-7 as well D-Max pick-ups,” he added.
Responding to questions at a press conference, the senior official of the Japanese auto giant said, “We have number of variants under next D-Max V-Cross adventure utility vehicles, targeting adventurers, regular 2-door, 4-door cabs and pick ups and commercial UVs. We are test marketing the new product in India and we have no target to say at this point of time,” he said.