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A bold venture
Page 22
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With its advance into the heavier end of the market, Isuzu is taking on a serious challenge. CM asks the company's Yoshifumi Komura about the move.
Words: Alban Manes / Image: Tom Lee LAUNCHING INTO a new sector is no mean feat for any manufacturer, so when Isuzu Trucks revealed it was expanding its range to include 11, 12,15, and 18-tonners a few eyebrows were raised,but YoshifumiKomura,executive officer, international sales division No 1, is confident that the European market is ripe for expansion.
"We'd been looking at the possibility for a while, and with the new weight range, we saw a gap. Isuzu already has vehicles up to 25 tonnes outside of Europe, so moving into heavier categories didn't need too much development on the engineering side."
So what does he see as the biggest challenge in tackling such a move? "Most places on the Continent have an established manufacturer. France [Renault], Germany [Mercedes, MAN], Italy [Iveco] and Sweden [Volvo, Scania] all have their own home-grown firms, so several markets already have a recognised rival to deal with.
Competitive spirit
"In Europe, you have issues such as emissions and safety issues. We need to abide by the different rules, but we're confident our vehicles are more than capable of meeting those demands."
As for competition, he sees Mercedes and New as Isuzu's biggest rivals, but he does warn of a potential long-term threat coming from India and China. "They are introducing products at a cheap price. Of course, their quality is still in question and they're not yet established [in Europe], but they may be a big issue for us in the future."
Talking sales, Komura San believes its two leading markets hold the most potential for Isuzu's new range.
"UK and Italy are good markets for us and we foresee the former being the leading country in terms of heavier vehicle sales. Our distributor in the UK is selling 1,500 trucks in a year. We're expecting more, possibly double that within two to three years."
Needs of the customer
A bold target, but he points to the work already carried out regarding Isuzu's dealer and service network, along with its commitment to customer care that's helped to sell the current range.
He cites the already key recovery sector as a vital area to focus on, and commercial success may even prompt a further expansion of the range in Europe, "up to 25 tonnes, depending on how the current top-end range does".
The new heavier range doesn't mean that lsuzu will look to bring in any body-building services for its customers, preferring to continue to outsource any customer demands. We currently have very good relations with a number of body builders, says Komura San, "and we'll continue to support them."
Interestingly, Isuzu has achieved Euro-5 using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology, something that may have a positive influence on sales. What was the reason for this?
"When deciding which way to go, we looked at customers' needs and how they'd be best served in terms of cost and real-world durability. This prompted us to incorporate EGR, although, for the future [Euro-6], I can see us using a mix of technologies." •