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Isuzu Motors Ltd. history
Isuzu Motors Ltd. company history timeline
The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.“
Since 1916, the ISUZU brand has been indelibly linked to passion, precision and performance.
In fact, Tokyo Gas produced its first vehicle, the Type A truck, in 1918, using engines from Tokyo Ishikawajima.
The next step was taken in 1918, when a technical cooperation with Wolseley Motors Limited was initiated, yielding exclusive rights to the production and sales of Wolseley vehicles in East Asia from knock-down kits.
Three years later in 1919, Japan's first truck was built.
In 1919 came the first ever Japan-produced passenger car, a Wolseley model, the Fifteen A9 15/40 НР at the Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipyard at the Fukagawa Factory.
In 1922, Japan’s first domestically produced automobile, a Wolseley model A-9 is completed.
In 1927 the company introduced its 2-ton load capacity "Sumida P-type truck" equipped with an A6 engine and a 1-ton vehicle "Sumida M-type No.
The Wolseley sourced CP truck followed two years later; 550 of these were built by 1927.
1928 Dec Developed the “Sumida” CL model, which offered excellent power and efficient fuel consumption.
In 1929 the enterprise was incorporated separately as Ishikawajima Automobile Manufacturing, Ltd.
An early example was the “Sumida”, developed in 1929, which was equipped with an A6 or an A4 engine and realized excellent power and fuel consumption.
In 1933, Ishikawa Automotive Works responded by launching the “Isuzu”, a government standard model car named after the Isuzu River that flows past the Japan’s oldest shrine, the Ise Shrine of Mie prefecture.
The firm then merged with DAT Automobile Manufacturing in 1933 and within a year the new company renamed their truck model the Isuzu, after the Isuzu River.
The company developed an air-cooled diesel engine in 1934.
In 1934, a Ministry of Trade and Industry standard model car was launched and named the “Isuzu” after the ISUZU River in the ISE Shrine area.
1936 Mar Developed Japan’s first air-cooled diesel engines, the DA6 and the DA4.
Under a government mobilization scheme in 1937, the automotive interests of Tokyo Ishikawajima and Tokyo Gas were formally merged into a new company called Tokyo Motors.
Operations started in July 1938.
In 1938 Tokyo Motors began production of a truck under a new nameplate, Isuzu--Japanese for "50 bells." By this time, however, the military had gained control of the government and launched a war against China.
In 1939 Tokyo Motors developed a new diesel model, the DA40, representing another advance in the company's diesel technologies.
In 1942, Hino Heavy Industries split from Isuzu, becoming a separate corporation.
The company's truck business was spun off into a new company called Hino Heavy Industries (later Hino Motors). Tokyo Motors continued to operate as a frame manufacturer, but resumed production of engines in 1943.
Truck and bus production of the TX40 and TU60 series and the Isuzu Sumida bus resumed in 1945, with the permission of the occupation authorities. and has remained the primary focus of manufacture for the company, along with diesel engine production.
In 1946 the company introduced a new diesel truck called the TX80.
The company changed its name to Isuzu Motors, Ltd. in 1949.
It was only in 1949 that Isuzu was adopted as the company name.
After the Second World War, the company was finally renamed to Isuzu (after the Isuzu River) in 1949, following a meeting with the Japanese Government's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI).
After an armistice was concluded in 1953, Isuzu reestablished licensing agreements with the British.
Beginning in 1953 the Hillman Minx passenger car is produced under license of Rootes Group giving the company a passenger car to compete with other Japanese manufacturers, realizing that their resources were limited and therefore sought out international partnerships.
1955: Isuzu diesel engines and snow tractors are put into service at Japan's Antarctic Observation Base (and are still used today)
1959 Aug TL 2-ton payload compact truck, ELF was unveiled.
1959: First 2-ton light-duty low cab forward truck in the world — the predecessor of today's N-Series trucks
1961 Jan Unveiled the TK model 1.75-ton payload compact truck, ELFIN.
Isuzu’s first car, the Bellel, was introduced in 1961.
In 1962 Isuzu opened a new factory at Fujisawa.
1963 Jun Unveiled the KR compact truck, WASP.
Under pressure from MITI, who were attempting to limit the number of automobile manufacturers in Japan, a cooperation with Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) began in 1966.
December Isuzu enters into an operational alliance with Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (The alliance is dissolved in May 1968.)
Unfortunately, this collaboration was short lived and it was over by 1968 after Isuzu started an agreement with Mitsubishi.
June Isuzu enters into an operational alliance with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (The alliance is dissolved in May 1969.)
In 1970 Isuzu introduced two new trucks, the medium-sized Forward (named for its forward control) and a 12-ton diesel model.
March Isuzu enters into an operational alliance with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (The alliance is dissolved in July 1971.)
In 1971 General Motors purchased a 34.2 percent share of Isuzu.
1972 Feb Released the KB 1-ton payload compact truck, FASTER. Begins exporting KP trucks to the United States.
General Motors took a 34% stake in Isuzu and then the Chevrolet LUV was the first Isuzu-built vehicle to be sold in the US in 1972.
In 1974 General Motors employed Isuzu to manufacture the Kadett, a model designed by its German Opel subsidiary, under the Isuzu nameplate as the Bellett Gemini.
To symbolize the new beginning, Isuzu also developed a new logo for 1974, with two vertical pillars as stylized representations of the first syllable in いすゞ ("Isuzu"). In 1974 Isuzu introduced the Gemini, which was co-produced with General Motors as the T-body Chevrolet Chevette.
In 1976 it began importing the Gemini into the United States as the Buick Opel.
Isuzu gained additional growth in the American market with a diesel-powered pickup sold in the United States as the Chevrolet Luv beginning in 1977.
1979 May Launched the 1-ton four-wheel drive truck, FASTER - RODEO.
A three-way agreement of co-ownership was signed in August 1981, with Isuzu and Suzuki exchanging shares and General Motors taking a 5% share of Suzuki.
1981 Aug Introduced the compact four-wheel drive vehicle, RODEO BIGHORN.
General Motors' Chief Executive Officer Roger Smith laid a bombshell on Isuzu Chairman T. Okamoto in a landmark 1981 meeting.
In 1981 Isuzu began selling consumer and commercial vehicles under their own brand in the United States.
Starts operation in June 1984.
In the United States, the very first Isuzu truck arrived at the Port of Jacksonville, Florida on November 10, 1984.
Isuzu exports also increased considerably as a result of being able to use GM networks, from 0.7% of production in 1973 to 35.2% by 1976; this while overall production increased more than fourfold in the same period. As a result of the GM joint venture, Isuzu engines were also used by existing GM divisions (some USA-market Chevrolet automobiles had Isuzu powertrains e.g. the Chevette and early S10/S15 trucks manufactured prior to 1985).
Isuzu's export sales surpassed three million units in 1986, but again, much of this growth occurred in Asian markets and was accounted for in truck sales.
1986: R.L. Polk certifies Isuzu trucks as the best-selling import commercial truck in the United States — a position Isuzu trucks have held ever since
These efforts helped to establish Isuzu as the world's largest truck manufacturer (on a per-unit basis) in 1987.
1987: Isuzu and Subaru enter into a joint venture to build an automobile production plant in Lafayette, Indiana.
September IBC Vehicles Ltd. established in England, a joint venture with GM. Starts operation in August 1988.
1989 Apr A new type of recreational vehicle, the MU, was introduced in Japan and the United States.
How about the earlier 1989 Isuzu 4200R? Wearing the same droopy, soft-edged aesthetic, this supercar study incorporated the automaker's experimental 4.2-liter Lotus-fettled DOHC V-8, capable of 350 hp.
Isuzu completed several other joint business arrangements in 1990, including an agreement with P.T. Gaya Motor of Indonesia to build pickup trucks in that country.
June Isuzu enters into a sales alliance with Yanase & Co., Ltd. (The alliance is dissolved in December 1991.)
The company lost $500 million in 1991 and was faltering financially.
The 1991 Isuzu Como F1 is perhaps the craziest of them all: The melted-look, the V-12 hidden under the soap-bar body, and gullwing doors.
March Isuzu enters into a mutual OEM supply agreement with Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (The agreement is dissolved in December 1992.)
Isuzu ended US sales of the Impulse (Geo Storm) in 1992, and the following year it stopped exporting the Stylus (the basis for the Geo Spectrum), the last Isuzu-built car sold in the US.
December Isuzu begins study into product synergies with Honda Motor Company. (The two companies enter into a basic agreement in April 1993.)
By the end of Isuzu's 1993 fiscal year, the company reported a loss of only $39 million.
Also in the year 1993, the company invested in a manufacturing program with Honda which was quite successful.
In 1993 Isuzu began a new vehicle exchange program with Honda, whereby Honda sold the Isuzu Rodeo and Isuzu Trooper as the Honda Passport and Acura SLX, respectively.
August Isuzu enters into an operational alliance with Suzuki Jidōsha Kōgyō Ltd. (present-day Suzuki Motor Corporation). (The alliance is dissolved in March 1994.)
Because GM relied on Isuzu for production of its Geo Storm model, the response back at GM was uneven. "The marketing guys at Chevrolet were disappointed," Forbes quoted Sullivan in 1994. "But the business people at GM looking at the financial liability at Isuzu had a different feeling."
1995 Dec Launched MU-WIZARD, a sports-utility vehicle in Japan and the United States.
They continued their SUV innovations with the unveiling of the VehiCROSS in 1997.
To this end, the company launched a series of restructuring plans beginning in December 1998.
In 1998 GM and Isuzu formed DMAX, a joint venture to produce diesel engines.
The production version of the heralded VehiCROSS was introduced to the US in 1999, but met with mixed reviews, as its high pricetag, unique styling and two-door configuration did not seem to meet with market demands.
Even the 2000 Trooper Limited purchased at 127K miles is still holding its own and still turns heads as this top-of-the-line SUV for 2000 preforms well.
The most comprehensive came in May 2001, when the company announced its intention to reduce its workforce by nearly 10,000 employees over a three-year period, in addition to consolidating a number of its divisions and subsidiaries.
In spite of these measures, however, Isuzu still suffered losses of ¥23.6 billion for the first half of 2001, compared to a ¥22.1 billion loss for the same period in the previous year, and in November 2001 the company was forced to slash an additional 3,300 jobs.
Production of the VehiCROSS and other sport utility vehicles, including the Trooper, ended in 2001 as part of a major financial reorganization which eliminated almost 10,000 jobs.
GM wrote off its investment in Isuzu in 2001.
After 8 years of heavy Honda Passport sales and light Isuzu Oasis sales, Honda and Isuzu cooperatively ended their vehicle exchange agreement in 2001.
2001 was Isuzu's last year for passenger vehicles in Canada, as Isuzus in Canada were mostly sold at Saturn-Saab dealerships.
In January 2002, with the hope of further streamlining its operations, Isuzu merged its Japanese bus-manufacturing business with Hino Motors.
In August 2002 GM announced plans to acquire a 60 percent share in Isuzu's Polish diesel engine operations, in addition to increasing its stake in the DMAX Ltd.
Although the company still lost ¥43 billion in fiscal 2002, this figure marked a significant improvement over the previous year's losses of ¥67 billion.
By late 2002 Isuzu launched its fourth restructuring scheme in five years, and even began to consider dropping out of the truck business altogether.
2002: Cumulative United States sales of Isuzu trucks exceeds 275,000 units
In late 2002 Isuzu initiated a recapitalization and debt-for-equity conversion plan to stave off a bankruptcy.
In early 2002, Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru's parent company) bought Isuzu's share of Lafayette, Indiana plant, and Subaru Isuzu Automotive (SIA) became Subaru of Indiana Automotive.
Unfortunately, this fresh infusion of capital could do nothing to reverse the company's fortunes in the present, and losses for the fiscal year ending in March 2003 were in excess of $1 billion.
Although still mired in debt in the summer of 2003, Isuzu had high hopes that its revised business strategy, with a heavier emphasis on promoting its diesel technology, would soon restore the company to profitability.
Isuzu sales began to slide due to the aging of the Rodeo and Trooper, and poor management and a lack of assistance from GM. The Rodeo Sport was discontinued in 2003, while production of the Rodeo and Axiom ceased a year later.
These radical streamlining efforts were intended to reverse the company's recent poor financial performance, with the aim of achieving profits of ¥30 billion by 2004.
2005: 50,000th gasoline-powered N/W-Series truck assembled in Janesville, Wisconsin
Production of the 7-passenger Ascender ended in February 2006 with the closure of GM's Oklahoma City Assembly plant, leaving Isuzu with the 5-passenger Ascender, built in Moraine, Ohio and the low-selling i-Series as its only retail products.
In June 2006 Isuzu and GM agreed to establish a joint venture called "LCV Platform Engineering Corporation (LPEC)" to develop a new pickup.
In November 2006, Toyota purchased 5.9% of Isuzu.
In 2006, after many cut backs in the United States, Mitsubishi becomes Isuzu’s largest shareholder.
The company sold just 1,504 vehicles in North America in the first two months of 2006.
In August 2007 Isuzu and Toyota agreed to develop a 1.6-liter diesel engine for use in Toyota vehicles sold in European markets.
Plans to introduce a new Thai-built SUV for 2007 were shelved when Isuzu Motors Limited decided that a new SUV would be too risky, instead proceeding with the launch of the i-series trucks.
Isuzu and Toyota shelved development of a clean diesel engine in December 2008.
In June, however, GM announced that these talks failed to reach an agreement, and GM instead ceased production of the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC Topkick vehicles on 31 July 2009.
When was the last time you thought about Isuzu? If you live in the United StatesA., it's probably been quite a while since that Japanese automaker has crossed your mind; the last Isuzu passenger vehicle sold in America got its tags in 2009.
After a string of trucks and SUVs on shared platforms with GM, Isuzu pulled out of the passenger vehicle market in the United States in 2009, leaving us with only its branch of commercial trucks.
2010: Isuzu N-Series — First medium-duty LCF trucks to be EPA 2010 and CARB HD-OBD compliant, and 50-state clean-idle certified
2011: Introduction of the Reach — the revolutionary walk-in van powered by Isuzu; began production in Wakarusa, Indiana
2011: Isuzu N-Series Gas production begins in Charlotte, Michigan
2012: Isuzu Reach named "Medium-Duty Truck of the Year" by Work Truck magazine
At this point, details of development, production and supply of the diesel engine were still under discussion, but in principle, Isuzu would play the leading role, with production scheduled to begin around 2012.
2013: Isuzu N-Series named "Medium-Duty Truck of the Year" by Work Truck magazine
Isuzu celebrates record-breaking 2015 - Sales of N-Series trucks and Isuzu parts reach all-time highs
Isuzu’s plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh began operations in 2016.
Isuzu breaks sales records, again - Sales of Isuzu-brand trucks and Isuzu parts reach all-time high in 2017
In August 2018, Toyota sold off its 5.9% stake in Isuzu.
Launched 2018 mu-X, More Muscle More Heart SUV
In December 2019, Isuzu announced that it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding which would eventually see Volvo sell UD Trucks to them.
In November 2020, the companies announced that they have signed the "final agreements", making the memorandum of understanding binding.
In March 2021, Isuzu, Hino, and Hino's parent Toyota announced the creation of a strategic partnership between the three companies.
In April 2021, Isuzu completed UD Trucks acquisition.
September The new D-MAX achieves highest five-star rating under ANCAP's revised protocols of 2021.
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Isuzu Motors Ltd. competitors
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Isuzu Motors Ltd. history FAQs
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