The Indian automobile industry is currently abuzz with the rumours of an all new Isuzu MPV being developed by the Japanese manufacturer for our market. The vehicle codenamed RU30 will be a 7 seater similar in size to the Toyota Innova, which will be it’s primary competitor, and bigger than the Ertiga and Mobilio MPVs. Details regarding the Isuzu MPV are very sketchy but we expect the Innova challenger to cost around Rs 10-13 Lakh and should be available by October 2016 just in time for the festive season.
Isuzu’s presence in the Indian auto industry is almost negligible with it’s limited product portfolio which inculdes the MU-7 SUV and the D-Max pick up truck both locally assembled at Hidustan Motors’ Chennai facility on a temporary basis. The company plans to invest Rs 3000 Crore into a full fledged manufacturing facility at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh where the proposed Isuzu MPV will be manufactured along with the D-Max pick-up truck.
The automobile manufacturer has big plans for the country and hopes to sell 40,000 units of the MPV and 20,000 units of the pick-up truck annually. The Isuzu MPV is also expected to be exported to the other Asian markets to compete with the Innova. Technical details are not available as of now but expect the Isuzu MPV could be powered by the 2.5 litre, 4-cylinder, 134 BHP diesel egnine that does duty on the D-Max pick up truck.
The Isuzu MPV is slated for launch in October 2016 which means that it will be facing stiff competition form a range of MPVs expected to hit the Indian market by then, which would include the next generation Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo being it’s chief rivals. Hyundai and Suzuki are also expected to bring in new MPVs by then.
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