By 2023, India largest market for pickups: Isuzu.

Isuzu Motors India is hopeful that India would not only be a larger market for pickups in the world in the years to come but would also offer opportunities for exporting these vehicles out of India. Besides, the company would also explore that possibility of sourcing components out of India. This was stated by senior Isuzu officials during the launch of the Isuzu D-MAX in Gurgaon, in the outskirts of Delhi.

D-Max, one of the largest selling pickup trucks in the world, comprises of three models – two cabin options and two deck options. The D-Max Single cab will be available in flat deck and the D-MAX Space Cab will be available in both flat deck and arched deck variants. The D-MAX Single Cab is priced at Rs. 5,89,000. The D-MAX Space Cab flat deck is priced at Rs. 6, 09,000, while the arched deck variant is priced at Rs.6, 99,000. All prices are ex-showroom National Capital Region (NCR).

Takashi Kikuchi, Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India noted that the company would be outlets in Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Ludhiana by this year. Within a year it would also open outlets in Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Kanpur and Udaipur so as to cover the entire Northern region. The company opened its first northern India outlet in New Delhi.

Kikuchi noted that North India is an important region for his company, contributing to approximately 30pc of the total pickup sales in the country. He said it's been observed that Indian customers are beginning to prefer pickups to small commercial vehicles, accounting to 35pc of the total CV market. Shigeru Wakabayashi, Deputy Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India said that by 2023 the 1 tonne pickup segment in India is expected to grow to 8 lakh units. He said India would become the world’s largest pickup market.

The D-Max is powered by a 2499cc, 4-cylinder intercooled turbocharged diesel engine. The engine is mated with a 5-speed manual transmission. The engine delivers 134 HP powerful @ 3600 RPM and 294 NM torque @ 1800-3200 RPM range. This ensures that the D-Max is able to carry a payload of 1.2 tons with ease.