BREAKING NEWS: Isuzu establishes Canadian arm

TORONTO — Starting this June, Isuzu’s line of class 3-5 low cab forward medium duty trucks will be widely available across Canada, after the truckmaker announced today it has established a Canadian distributor of its operations, Isuzu Commercial Truck of Canada Inc.

The new Toronto-based company, ICTC, will import and sell Isuzu commercial vehicles and provide parts and service support — strengthening its overall sales and service network in North America, says Isuzu.

Isuzu will sell both gas and diesel low cab forward trucks in Canada

“Establishing the Isuzu brand in Canada will give us the opportunity to offer great trucks in a growing market, giving customers more choices when it comes to selecting the right truck for their business,” said Makoto Kawahara, President of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “Customers may have been familiar with our products, but not the Isuzu brand.”

An Isuzu distributor in Canada, say the company, will offer direct sales and service support. Previously, Isuzu-built LCF vehicles were available in Canada only as GMC W-Series-branded trucks.

The plan, therefore, is to further increase sales by establishing an Isuzu network of dealers, in addition to the existing network of GMC W-Series locations The vehicles will be imported by ICTC from the U.S. and marketed through a sales network of local dealers.

The new company will sell both gas and diesel low-cab forward trucks in classes 3-5. Projected 2007 sales for the combined GMC and Isuzu networks is 1,000 units, with a goal of 2,000 by 2010.

The Canadian commercial truck market for classes 3-7 is approximately 16,000 units, of which the low cab forward segment represents about 14 percent.

Of the nearly 400,000 Isuzu-built diesel trucks sold in North America since 1984, more than 83 percent are still registered and in service, the truckmaker boasts.

At ExpoCam in Montreal last week, GM unveiled its Isuzu-built, 2008 GMC W-Series low-cab-forward truck. For the first time in Canada, the series now offers a gas engine in the W3500 and W4500 in addition to diesel models. (click on the Related Story below for more).

Last week it was reported that Isuzu Motors bought land in Alabama in an effort to build a new light truck plant and resume vehicle production in the U.S. for the first time since 2002.