Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Ltd., today signed an agreement with the state government of Andhra Pradesh to construct a manufacturing facility which would specialize in manufacturing LCV's (Light Commercial Vehicles).
The proposed factory is situated at Sricity in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh. The location is preferred because of its proximity to Chennai which is an automobile hub with strong infrastructure for import and export.
Isuzu has commenced sales of its MU-7 SUV and the D-Max pickup truck this month in the cities of Hyderabad and Coimbatore. After the test marketing phase in eclipsed, the Japanese automaker will slowly expand its presence starting from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The proposed facility will sit on 4,30,000 square metres of land, however there is no information about the quantum of investments made. Isuzu will continue to import the MU-7 and D-Max pickup truck as CBU's from Thailand until the Sricity facility is ready to produce vehicles.
[Isuzu has already started retailing the MU-7 SUV and the D-Max pickup in its first dealerships inaugurated in Hyderabad and Coimbatore]
The Indian Light Commercial Vehicle market has expanded to about 2,00,000 units last year and Isuzu plans to tap this promising growth segment. A few years down the line, Isuzu targets to sell around 1,00,000 units a year in the Indian market.
Isuzu plans to do this by "developing products matching the market needs, expanding the sales network and setting up manufacturing operations."
