Our mates at Indiancarsbikes.in have clicked a few more sightings of Isuzu testing their MU-7 SUV in Pune.
Isuzu is getting ready for its passenger car foray in India in the year 2013. The two products that are expected to be chosen to establish the brand in India are the MU-7 SUV and the D-Max pickup truck.
The Isuzu MU-7 has been spotted countless number of times in Pune. Essentially, the MU-7 is a 7 seater SUV based on the D-Max’s chassis just like the Toyota Fortuner is based on the Hilux platform.
It is powered by a four cylinder 3.0 litre diesel engine which churns out 120 bhp of power and 333 Nm of torque. A 5 speed manual transmission or a 5 speed automatic transmission can perform the cog shifting duties. It is available in both 4×2 and 4X4 avatars. It has some clever tech as well such as a touch screen multimedia system, reverse parking camera and ORVMs with blind spot assistance.
Isuzu is planning to build a greenfield facility in India worth Rs 1,000 crore. The plant will have a capacity of 1,00,000 to 1,20,000 units annually and is expected to begin bustling in 2015. The plant will cater to both domestic and foreign demand.
However, Isuzu plans to commence its passenger car business in the next year itself. We think Isuzu will bring the MU-7 to India as CKD kits from Thailand and will assemble it at their Indian facility in Punjab which they share with Swaraj Mazda Limited (SML).
If the MU-7 is launched in India there is a very good chance that it will be priced in the range of the Force One and the XUV500. Isuzu should commence accepting dealer applications very soon.
[Source: Indiancarsbikes.in]
