Official announcement due on Friday, according to a report.
According to Nikkei, Isuzu Motors and General Motors will jointly develop a pickup truck for emerging markets. The new pickup will be manufactured in Southeast Asia and India, and sales will start in Thailand and Indonesia as early as 2015. Nikkei did not reveal the source of this information, but said that a formal announcement will be made by the companies on Friday.
Isuzu's upcoming plant at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, would have to serve to build the new pickup truck. The new plant, which takes on an investment of INR 3,000 crore, will roll out pickups with 70 percent localization from the start of operations. In a few years after the plant's start of operation, localization levels will reach 100 percent. The plant has an area of 4,30,000 square meters.
Also read: Review - Isuzu D-Max and D-Max Spacecab
Isuzu in India is also planning on a new MPV to take on the likes of the Toyota Innova and Honda Mobilio. The vehicle, codenamed RU30, could launch in the festive period of 2016 with annual planned production of 40,000 units per annum. Isuzu's current lineup in India has the D-Max pickup (Single cab and Spacecab) and MU-7 SUV.
