Isuzu opens plant in AP, to roll out 50k vehicles

The Dollar Business Bureau

Japanese automaker Isuzu Motors India (IMI) inaugurated a new state-of-the-art plant at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh and expects to reach a production level of 50,000 units per year in the coming three years. The plant was inaugurated by N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
The automaker rolled out its D-Max V-Cross - India’s first adventure utility vehicle, from this newly-opened facility. The company earmarked an investment of Rs.3000 crore for the project.

Spread over an area of 107 acres, this local manufacturing facility has the production capacity of 50,000 units, which in future can be scaled up to 120,000 units.

According to the company release, at the start of production, the new generation of Isuzu D-Max vehicles will be manufactured with 70 percent localisation that will eventually be increased in future.

IMI will also consider exporting vehicles, manufactured at this plant to other markets in the world at a suitable time in future, it said.

The company already has operations in Japan, Thailand and the US. The new plant in India will give an impetus to Isuzu’s global manufacturing operations.

Speaking on the occasion, Masanori Katayama, President of Isuzu Motors Limited, said, “India is a vital part of our worldwide growth strategy. This new plant at Sri City will not only serve the requirements of growing market in India, but it will also become a major hub of manufacturing for our global operations in future.”

For meeting its manufacturing needs in India, the automaker has partnership deals with around 120 auto-components suppliers in the country. The company’s focus to manufacture locally will increase more in future. IMI is also looking for opportunities to ship its components to meet the requirements of other worldwide markets.

Isuzu Motors India company release quoted Hiroyasu Miura, Chairman of the Indian unit as saying, “The advanced D-MAX pickups of Isuzu will be manufactured at Sri City plant, in compliance with the company’s highly acclaimed practices of ‘Manufacturing Management’.

“Isuzu has found local suppliers that are capable of meeting the company’s high quality standards. The company will follow the strategy of localisation for manufacturing operations in the country,” he said.

We are in India for the past four years and have a good understanding of the Indian market and our customer’s requirements. Our new manufacturing facility at Sri City is a key landmark in our journey of expansion in India,” Miura added.

Providing an encouraging impetus to Isuzu, Chief Minister Naidu said that his government is mulling the prospect of road tax exemption on vehicles manufactured and sold by Isuzu in the state.