Japanese OEM targets the emerging market of Nellore and sees significant potential for the D-Max range of pick-ups and the MU-X SUV.
14 Dec 2017 | 7198 Views | By Mayank Dhingra
Isuzu Motors India has inaugurated its new 3S outlet, RKE Isuzu, in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The new 3S outlet in the city is the company’s fifth outlet in the state and will offer complete portfolio of sales, service and spares.
The new 3S facility in Nellore, ...
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Isuzu Motors India has inaugurated its new 3S outlet, RKE Isuzu, in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The new 3S outlet in the city is the company’s fifth outlet in the state and will offer complete portfolio of sales, service and spares.
The new 3S facility in Nellore, which is spread across 4,600 square feet with four service bays, is built on the new Isuzu dealership standards which put strong focus on stringent manpower training regimes under the supervision of Isuzu personnel. Isuzu’s total dealer count now stands at 29 outlets across the country.
Inaugurating the outlet, Takashi Miyachi, vice-president (Sales and Marketing), Isuzu Motors India, said, “We are significantly expanding our dealership network in Andhra Pradesh as this also happens to be our manufacturing base in India. Nellore is an emerging market and we see significant potential for the D-Max range of pick-ups and the MU-X SUV. With the incentive of Motor Vehicle Tax exemption for Isuzu vehicles in Andhra Pradesh, customers in this region can now have access to the best of automobile technology at a very attractive value for money. RKE Auto has been a key dealer partner of Isuzu since the start of our operations in India. With the new outlet, we will together offer the best of sales and service support to all our customers in this region.”
Speaking on the occasion, Balaji Choudary, managing director, RKE Isuzu, said, “We are very happy to open our new dealership facility in Nellore. As one of the earliest dealer partners of Isuzu, we are extremely happy to expand our operations in this region. As a dealer partner we will continue our focus on high customer satisfaction by maintaining high standards of sales and service set by Isuzu.”
Catering to both PV and CV markets
The company currently operates from its manufacturing facility in Sri City, in Andhra Pradesh which started operations in April 2016 and offers a product line-up which includes, the D-Max V-Cross adventure utility vehicle and the MUX-X SUV targeted at the private buyer; and the D-Max S-Cab and the D-Max Regular cab pickup trucks targeted at medium and small businesses and entrepreneurs.
The century-old Japanese UV and CV major, which had entered the Indian market in December 2013 with its MU-7 SUV brought in via the CBU route, now has an annual production capacity of 50,000 units (scalable to 1,20,000 units). While its flagship MU-X SUV is being imported in the form of CKD kits from its Thailand subsidiary and assembled at its plant in Andhra Pradesh, the D-Max pickup is largely localised with the company planning to further enhance localisation in a phased manner, keeping a check on quality.
The company already sources its components from over 120 locally based vendors in India and aims to leverage the highly competent and cost competitive supplier base in the country, all in line with its overall aim to develop India into a future hub of its global manufacturing operations. Localisation content is on the rise in Isuzu models on sale, with parts being segregated into batches for continuously developing more local sources.
Isuzu Motors India closed FY2016-17 with cumulative sales of 1,607 units. Between April-November 2017, the company has sold 1,337 units (+111.5%).