New man at the top for Isuzu Ute Australia

The incoming managing director of Isuzu Ute Australia, Yasuhiro Takeuchi, is confident of doubling sales of the company's D-MAX one tonne ute range “in the near future”, despite increasingly stiff competition from rival ute manufacturers Down Under.

Speaking at a media briefing to announce that Takeuchi, 43 would take over the reins of Isuzu Ute Australia from current MD Hitoshi Kono, in mid-September, Takeuchi (pictured) was buoyant about the prospect of continuing growth and increasing local acceptance of one of the world’s biggest selling utes (in its various iterations).

Despite launching in a very bleak economic climate, the Isuzu D-MAX ute has racked up more than 12,500 sales in Australia since October 2008. Last year it sold 5114, with nearly 80 per cent of those 4x4 versions, at a time when local sales of 4x4, diesel-engined utes were on the rise.

Although Isuzu has captured just five per cent of the one-tonne ute market in Australia (which totals around 120,000 sales annually), and despite increased competition from new ute players (Great Wall and Volkswagen), and soon-to-arrive new models (Holden, Mazda and Ford), Takeuchi is upbeat about boosting Isuzu sales “in the near future” to 10,000.

“We think we have a good possibility to achieve that. We are just three years old as a company... there is lots of room to grow,” Takeuchi said. “I was also doing the Thailand business, and I know how competitive our D-MAX is as well. It takes time to make people aware of how good our D-MAX is, but we can assure that the D-MAX is also a competitive vehicle... ”

Before arriving in Australia, Takeuchi was based in Tokyo in Mitsubishi Corporation’s Isuzu Business Division, overseeing strategy and planning in a number of countries including Thailand, D-MAX’s biggest market. Around two in every three vehicles sold in Thailand are utes, and the D-MAX has snared an impressive 40 per cent share of that market.

“Right now we have... let’s say five per cent (share), but in Thailand we have 40 per cent share. I’m not saying we can do 40 percent in (Australia), but we have a lot of room to grow,” he said.

Since landing in Australia in late July, Takeuchi has been travelling around the country with current MD Hitoshi Kono, trying to make further inroads into the all-important corporate and government fleet markets, in which around 70 percent of all one tonne utes in Australia are sold.

Also crucial to Isuzu’s continued expansion in Australia will be the addition to the local range of the new MU7 SUV that will be based on the next-generation D-MAX.

Although Mitsubishi Corporation has yet to officially give the Isuzu SUV the ‘green light’ for Australia, outgoing chief Hitoshi Kono expects the SUV to go on sale here after the new model ute is launched, in a few months time.

Jointly developed by Isuzu and GM for the first time, the next-generation D-MAX will be launched not long after the GM-sold derivative, badged as Holden Colorado Down Under. Kono did confirm, however, that the GM and Isuzu ute variants will be “very different”, including engine variants.

Kono also suggested the Isuzu SUV could be a bigger seller than the ute in Australia. As well as offering similar attributes including good fuel economy and decent towing capacity, he said the SUV would appeal to a larger range of private buyers, including ‘grey nomads’.

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