Japanese SUV maker Isuzu Motors unveiled its first locally assembled MU-7 SUV in India.
The company which set foot in India in early 2013 with the MU-7 has also commenced the local assembly of its vehicles in the country. The MU-7, marketed in India as Completely Built Unit (CBU), will now be assembled at the Hindustan Motors (HML) manufacturing facility at Thiryvallur, Chennai. Besides MU-7, the company will also assemble its pick-up truck, D-Max, locally at HML plant.
The MU-7, a seven-seater SUV is powered by a 3.0-litre diesel engine which can generate 163PS of power and 360Nm of torque. The locally assembled MU-7 SUV is priced ₹22 lakh for the BS III variant and ₹22.3 lakh for the BS IV variant. According to reports, the company has commenced bookings for the vehicle and delivery is likely to start in January.
Takashi Kikuchi - Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Ltd said, "We are extremely happy to begin the local assembly of our products in India. It is the culmination of our extensive research over the last 3 years to understand the Indian market. India is a key region in Isuzu's global growth strategy for its emerging markets and as an important manufacturing hub in the future. In the next 5 years, our focus will be to accelerate our business and establish Isuzu as an important player in the pickup trucks and utility vehicles market in India," reported ZigWheels.
The company has signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh Government earlier this year to set up an LCV manufacturing facility at Sri City in Hyderabad and has invested ₹3,000 crore for the plant. Isuzu is expected to start operations of its own manufacturing capacity in India by 2016 with a production capacity of around 1.20 lakh units per year.
Currently, Isuzu has eight dealers in south India and the company hopes to expand it to 60 in the next two years.
