Automobile Brands » Isuzu Motors Limited

Isuzu Motors Limited, Headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu pickup trucks and SUVs, commercial vehicles and diesel engines. Isuzu products working hard in Japan and abroad.

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Isuzu vehicles (2015-2023)
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Isuzu Motors Limited Brand and Models
ELF

Launched in 1959, the N-Series (ELF in Japan) is Japan’s representative light-duty truck. Recognized for its outstanding combination of economy, safety, reliability and durability, it is the best-selling light-duty truck in numerous countries around the world.

FORWARD

F-Series (FORWARD in Japan) medium-duty trucks support a wide range of applications including arterial transportation and inner-city delivery, as well as various construction tasks and operations. A variety of models are available, including a 4-bag air suspension model offering high-quality transportation and a short-cab model with increased load efficiency. The F-Series is especially well received in Asia and Australia. A full model change in 2023 significantly enhanced environmental performance, safety and economy.

GIGA

The C&E Series (GIGA in Japan) heavy-duty truck and tractor series is designed to proactively reduces costs and enhance safety. It is equipped with 4-bag air suspension, the Smoother-Gx mechanical automatic transmission and VAT advanced visual support technology. The C-Series truck and E-Series tractor models have No.1 share in Australia and New Zealand markets, and are growing in popularity in China and Hong Kong.

GALA Sightseeing Bus

The GALA sightseeing bus is made in both large GALA tour bus and GALA Mio mid-size bus configurations for sightseeing and private use. The GALA series features high levels of environmental performance, safety and comfort, providing a smooth and comfortable ride.

ERGA Route Bus

The large ERGA for route/private-use and the mid-size ERGA Mio route buses comply with barrier-free transportation regulations and feature universal design, utilizing standardized specifications to help achieve non-step bus certification.

ERGA DUO

The first hybrid articulated bus produced in Japan, this large capacity bus secures mass transit and features advanced safety functions.

ISUZU D-MAX

The D-MAX 1-ton pickup truck’s proven performance has made it popular around the world. Notably in Thailand, Isuzu’s pickup manufacturing and export base, the D-MAX enjoys overwhelming popularity for its beautiful styling and power.

ISUZU MU-X

The development of the MU-X PPV (Pick-up Passenger Vehicle) was derived from the D-MAX, further refining stability, comfort, safety and control, to meet the expectations and needs of customers around the world.

TRAGA (Indonesia)

TRAGA is a cab-over lightweight truck for emerging markets. It was engineered based on the D-MAX pickup truck, adopting the company’s extensive commercial vehicle technologies with the aim of optimizing load efficiency, turning, and fuel efficiency to provide exceptional customer benefits.

 

Isuzu Motors Engine Sales Co., Ltd      |      ies-isuzu.co.jp

Isuzu Motors Engine Sales Co., Ltd. is a strategic engine specialist for the Isuzu Group that manufactures and sells marine engines, industrial engines, and various generators based on Isuzu truck-mounted engines that are lightweight, fuel efficient, and environmentally friendly. It’s a company.

Industrial Diesel Engines: In addition to developing industrial diesel engines that include Isuzu’s own state-of-the-art technology and have powerful moving capabilities, Isuzu is continuously charging ahead in pursuit of reliability, durability, and eco-friendliness. Isuzu offers a wide-ranging line-up of low- and high-displacement engines. Isuzu will bring reliability to the world as the global standard for future generations.

Marine Diesel Engines: Wide range of line-ups, World-widely distributed. Isuzu produces a wide range of high-performance marine engines that leverage the cost efficiencies and clean emissions of Isuzu Diesel technologies used in our automotive engines.

 

 

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc. is the distributor of Isuzu commercial vehicles in the United States. Isuzu commercial trucks have been the bestselling low-cab-forward trucks in America every year since 1986. Isuzu has nearly 300 Isuzu dealerships nationwide and each of them offers a multitude of services .

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc.
1400 S. Douglass Rd., Suite 100,
Anaheim, CA, United States, 92806

(866) 441-9638


isuzucv.com          (  Isuzu Commercial USA)

isuzu.com          (Product Portal website for Isuzu Motors America)

isuzuengines.com          (PowerTrain Division for Isuzu Motors America)

isuzutruckservice.com          (website provides information for Isuzu’s line of 1996-to-current commercial vehicles.)


 

Isuzu Motors UK

Isuzu Motors UK began in 1987 to import and distribute the Isuzu Motors Trooper model, today equipped with a punchy turbo diesel engine, the D-Max pick-up delivering 164PS and 360Nm of torque. Each new model comes with a 125,000 mile/5-year warranty and 5 years UK and European roadside assistance. With towing capabilities of 3.5 tonnes, a maximum payload of 1,205kg and a 4×4 drive, the Isuzu D-Max works for customers day and night achieving up to 39.4mpg, meeting Euro 6D emissions standards.

Customer Support Team, Monday – Friday 9am until 5.30pm, Call us on 01285 647670


isuzu.co.uk


 

Isuzu Truck UK Ltd

Formed in 1996, the company has grown considerably and developed a comprehensive dealer network that now spreads extensively throughout England, Scotland and Wales. In 2013 the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Ltd Japan.  Isuzu Truck UK purpose-built headquarters based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire is the home of Isuzu Truck UK  finance & administration, customer CARE, technical service and marketing & sales operations. It was also designed with a state-of-the-art technical centre which carrys out all of the technical training for Isuzu Truck UK dealer service personnel – in particular the all-important technicians. All Isuzu trucks built for the UK market are manufactured in Japan.

Isuzu Truck UK Ltd
Isuzu House
164 Great North Road
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL9 5JN
UK

Tel: 01707 28 29 30


isuzutruck.co.uk


 

Company

Corporate Headquarters Tokyo, Japan

Isuzu Motors Limited is a publicly listed company traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange  (  Code: 72020  )

Founded on 30 March 1934 (as Isuzu)

Headquarters in Yokohama Gate Tower, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Isuzu Motors Limited
1-2-5, Takashima, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, 220-8720, JAPAN

Tel. +81-45-299-9111


isuzu.co.jp


Name Isuzu Motors Limited
Foundation/Establishment 1916 / April 1937
Capital 40.6 billion yen (March 2023)
Representative Masanori Katayama, Chairman and Representative Director, CEO
Shinsuke Minami, President and Representative Director, COO
Sales Consolidated 3,195.5 billion yen
Non-Consolidated 1,306.8billion yen (FY2022)
Employees Consolidated 44,495
Non-Consolidated 8,056 (March 2023)
Major Products Light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, passenger vehicle engines, industrial-use diesel engines.
Subsidiaries Anadolu Isuzu, Sollers-Isuzu, SML Isuzu, IAMI, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., Isuzu HICOM Malaysia, Isuzu Malaysia, Isuzu Philippines, Isuzu UK, Isuzu South Africa, Taiwan Isuzu Motors, Isuzu Vietnam, Isuzu Motors India, UD Trucks, Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines

 

Isuzu History

The Wolseley CP Truck

Isuzu traces its beginnings to 1916, the year Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co. initiated plans for automobile production. In 1922, Japan’s first domestically produced automobile, a Wolseley model A-9 is completed. In 1934, a Ministry of Trade and Industry standard model car was launched and named the “Isuzu”. After World War II, development and production of commercial vehicles occurred at a feverish pace in Japan. There was great demand for Isuzu trucks to carry all kinds of materials, products and foodstuffs, and they played a major role in postwar reconstruction. Since that time, an endless variety of models from light-duty trucks to heavy-duty trucks and buses have rolled off Isuzu production lines

The name “Isuzu” appeared in the first trademark of 1934, when the current Isuzu’s predecessor started mass producing vehicles that met government standards. The name comes from the Isuzu River near Japan’s oldest shrine, the Ise Shrine of Mie prefecture. The name “Isuzu Motors Limited” was adopted in 1949.

The First Passenger Car Produced in Japan

Isuzu’s history can be traced back to its earliest antecedent company, Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., which was established in 1893. In 1916, this company diversified into car making, using capital amassed from its highly profitable shipbuilding business (Isuzu’s foundation year) and in 1918, started a passenger vehicle production venture in a tie-up with the British automaker Wolseley Motor Ltd. In 1922, Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering succeeded in localizing production of the Wolseley A9 – the first passenger car ever made in Japan. This achievement was followed in 1924 by the completion of the first Japanese-built Wolseley CP 1.5-ton payload truck qualified as an official military truck by the Japanese government.

In 1927, Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering ended its tie-up with Wolseley and began manufacturing the 100% localized vehicles of its own design. An early example was the “Sumida”, developed in 1929, which was equipped with an A6 or an A4 engine and realized excellent power and fuel consumption.

History of passenger vehicles

Isuzu was also an automotive engineering pioneer as a passenger vehicle manufacturer. Starting with the first Hillman passenger car in 1953, Isuzu introduced Bellel in 1961 and Bellett in 1963. The Bellett GT, affectionately called by the nickname, Bele-G, gained great popularity. In 1968, the Giugiaro-designed 117-Coupe reached the market. The Gemini, a vehicle jointly developed with GM, was introduced in 1974, followed in 1981 by another Giugiaro-design, the Piazza, and a compact 4WD vehicle, the Rodeo Bighorn. In 1985, Isuzu introduced FF Gemini, and its television commercial featuring daredevil stunt-driving was a great hit. Isuzu’s distinctive passenger cars and sport-utility vehicles still have a loyal following of fans even now.

Isuzu inaugurated its overseas operations in 1949 with the first export of its first vehicles to Hong Kong. In 1971, the affiliation agreement with General Motors marked the beginning of Isuzu’s full-scale overseas strategy, and by 1972 the company was exporting KB pickup trucks to the United States. In another partnership with GM, Isuzu unveiled the Gemini in 1974, which was developed under the first “world car” plan. Since then, Isuzu has been expanding its overseas subsidiaries and opened manufacturing plants or sales bases in Thailand in 1974, in North America in 1975, and in China in 1985. In China, today’s operations are rooted in friendships developed through Isuzu’s pioneering technology transfers and establishment of joint ventures. Diesel engine plants began production in Poland in 1999 and in the United States in 2000. Cumulative production of diesel engines in Japan and abroad already exceeds 20 million units.

Between 2005 and 2007, sales bases were established in Spain, Mexico, Canada and South Africa, and local manufacturing began in India and Uzbekistan. Moreover, we established a joint venture in Russia for truck manufacturing and sales.

The Origin of Isuzu Vehicle

In the same year that the “Sumida” appeared, the Car Department was split off from Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering and established as an independent company named Ishikawa Automotive Works Co., Ltd. The late 1920s was a period when car ownership was beginning to expand in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, as automobiles were demonstrating their potential to speed the pace of recovery following the disaster. In view of the growing demand for motor vehicles, the Japanese Government promoted domestic automobile industry. In 1933, Ishikawa Automotive Works responded by launching the “Isuzu”, a government standard model car named after the Isuzu River that flows past the Japan’s oldest shrine, the Ise Shrine of Mie prefecture. The company’s present name was later taken from that of the car.

The Establishment of Isuzu Motors

On April 9, 1937, Automobile Industries merged with Tokyo Gas & Electric Co. to establish Tokyo Automobile Industries Co., Ltd. Isuzu regards this date as the foundation day of the present Isuzu Motors Ltd. In 1941, Tokyo Automobile Industries obtained authorization as an exclusively approved company for diesel vehicle production and changed its name to Diesel Automobile Industry Co., Ltd. The company then played the core role in the development of diesel engines in Japan. After the end of the World War II, the water-cooled DA engine series developed during the war years were equipped in TX80 and other trucks for civil use in the postwar reconstruction effort. As a result of the widespread use of these vehicles, Isuzu became solidified in the public mind as a top diesel engine manufacturer in Japan.

ELF First Generation

The Isuzu ELF-A Light-Duty Truck

In 1949, Diesel Automobile Industry underwent a final name change to become Isuzu Motors Ltd., the company’s present name. Soon afterwards, the domestic demand for commercial vehicles expanded rapidly due to a rush of emergency orders prompted by the Korean War. Isuzu was in an ideal position to take advantage of this special demand and develop improved products, on account of which the company’s sales of diesel-powered vehicles shot up.

Then, in 1959, Isuzu launched the ELF, which holds the number-one share in the domestic light duty truck market today. Employing an original, easy-to-use cab-over style, the ELF immediately became the country’s best-selling light-duty truck, a position it has continued to command ever since.

Origins of Isuzu Diesel

After the German engineer Rudolf Diesel developed the world’s first diesel engine in 1893, decades passed until the birth of Japan’s first practical automotive diesel engine.

While Japan’s first diesel engine was developed by the Navy in 1907, the model was not for practical use but for research use. However, many private companies continued their efforts to develop diesel engines for various industries including the automobile industry.

Automobile Industries Co., Ltd., an Isuzu predecessor, established a diesel research committee in 1934, as part of the operational policies of then President Tomonosuke Kano. Just two years later in 1936, the company manufactured Japan’s first air-cooled diesel engine, which marked a breakthrough in the history of diesel engine development.

This engine model surpassed competitors when vehicles for both civilian and military use equipped with it soon.
Automobile Industries was merged with two other companies into Tokyo Automobile Industries Co., Ltd. in 1937.
The Japanese government designated Tokyo Automobile Industries in 1941 as the only company that was permitted to manufacture diesel-powered vehicles. Thus, the company, which was renamed Isuzu Motors Limited in 1949, has established strong foothold in the industry to lead the diesel engine technology.

Postwar Era

In response to the fast growing demand after the World War II for restoring vehicle production, Isuzu Motors developed the DA80 diesel-Japan’s first V8 engine-in 1950.

In addition, Isuzu developed a pre-combustion chamber, which had been improved through wartime to the postwar era as the industry’s standard indirect-injection combustion chamber.

Isuzu also developed a direct-injection combustion chamber in which an advanced configuration was incorporated. The model attracted the industry’s attention for its high performance.

1955-1964

Japan still suffered a shortage of fuel early in the decade. However, the launch of Isuzu’s bonnet-type truck in 1959 led to explosive sales. With the excellent fuel economy of its DA640 diesel, it boasted rugged performance on bumpy roads and extra durability even if the truck was heavily over-loaded.

Isuzu developed Japan’s first diesel engine for passenger cars in 1961. The DL201 model was presented with the 1961 Technological Award by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The DL200 model, which was mounted in 1964 on the Elf, Japan’s first cab-over light-duty truck, has gained great popularity in the market thanks to its excellence in economy and durability.

1965-1974

Japan entered the age of high-speed transportation in the decade by enhancing transportation infrastructure, backed by a fast growing economy. In the latter half of the period, the U.S. dollar crisis in 1971 and the first oil crisis in 1973 forced automakers to pay attention to energy-saving vehicles, competing with each other in developing turbo-charged engines and intercooled engines. Air pollution and noise also became critical issues for the automobile industry.

To cope with the trend, Isuzu adopted in 1973 its newly-developed low-emission, light-weight and high output PA model in the V Series lineup to ten-ton payload trucks and tractors.

1975-1984

The second oil crisis in 1979 resulted in further implementation of energy-saving measures among industries in Japan. This helped recovery of Japan’s sluggish economy. The automobile industry saw an increasing customers’ need for vehicles which featured, in addition to enhanced safety, low pollution, high output and good fuel economy.

In response to this need, Isuzu put on sale in 1981 ten-ton payload trucks equipped with high-torque, fuel-saving turbo-charged 8PB1-T and 6RA1-T engines. In 1983, the company released a new heavy-duty truck series in Japan, named as the 810 Series, after carrying out the first full-scale changes in 15 years. Improved features of the new series included the introduction of advanced diesels such as electronically controlled 6RA1-TC turbo-charged model, which incorporated intercooled design, and the V-type PC Series engines, which boasted enhanced displacement.

In small diesels, Isuzu promoted the use of fuel-efficient diesels in passenger cars through the release of the diesel-powered Florian and Gemini in 1977 and 1979, respectively.

Isuzu led the industry in the field of direct-injection diesel engines for light-duty trucks. In 1981, the company introduced direct-injection design, which features both high output and low fuel consumption, to all diesels mounted on two-ton payload trucks. In addition, It was Isuzu that developed world’s first full-scale electronically controlled diesel for both light- and heavy-duty trucks.

Isuzu also led the industry in developing ceramics for diesels. Isuzu developed the Ultra Quick on Start (QOS) system in 1981, which eliminated preheating time during start-up for the first time in the world. The system, which incorporated a newly-developed ceramic glow plug with high heat-resistance and electronic control, became indispensable for diesels, especially in passenger cars.

 

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