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Isuzu Motors Ltd. (いすゞ自動車株式会社, Isuzu Jidōsha Kabushiki-gaisha) TYO: 7202 is a Japanese automobile company, headquartered in Tokyo. more...

It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures Tochigi and Hokkaido. Isuzu is famous for producing commercial vehicles and diesel engines - it produced 16 million diesel engines in 2003 alone, which can be found in vehicles all over the world.

History

• 1916 - Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd. and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co. cooperatively plan to build automobiles.

• 1918 - A technical cooperation with Wolseley Motor Company (UK) is initiated. In 1922 the first Wolseley model A-9 car is domestically produced. The CP truck follows two years later.

• 1933 - Ishikawajima Automotive Works merges with Dot Automobile Manufacturing and changes its name to Automobile Industries Co., Ltd.

• 1934 - A meeting with the Ministry of Trade and Industry results in the renaming of the truck to Isuzu, after the Isuzu River.

• 1949 - Isuzu is adopted as company name.

• 1953 - With technical assistance of Rootes (U.K.) the Hillman Minx passenger car is produced.

• 1971 - A capital agreement with General Motors is signed.

• 1972 - The Chevrolet LUV becomes the first Isuzu-built vehicle to be sold in the United States.

• 1973 - Isuzu introduces the Gemini, which is co-produced with General Motors.

• 1981 - Isuzu-branded consumer and commercial vehicles are successfully exported to the United States. The Isuzu Pup is the first model sold to consumers.

• 1987 - The joint venture Subaru Isuzu Automotive Inc. (SIA) is established together with Fuji Heavy Industries, owner of Subaru.

• 1996 - Isuzu’s sales peak in the United States.

• 1998 - General Motors and Isuzu form DMAX, a joint venture to produce diesel engines.

• 1999 - GM raises its stake in Isuzu to 49%, effectively gaining control of the company.

• 2001 - Isuzu sales begin to slide as the Rodeo and Trooper age.

• 2002 - Subaru buys Isuzu's share. Subaru Isuzu Automotive becomes Subaru of Indiana Automotive.

• August 14, 2002 - General Motors sells its 49% share in Isuzu but quickly turns around to buy 12% back. GM also takes full control of DMAX and Isuzu Motors Polska, with Isuzu losing not just the factories but also ownership of all engine designs.

• 2003 - Isuzu sales were eliminated from the Canadian market. Canadian dealers mostly selling Saturn and Saab cars drop Isuzu cars from the lineup.

• July 2004 - Production of the Rodeo and Axiom stopped.

• 2005 - Isuzu dealers in the United States have only two models, the Ascender and the i-Series. The Ascender is a rebadged GM vehicle with mostly cosmetic differences from the GMC Envoy/Chevrolet TrailBlazer/Buick Rainier/and final version of the Oldsmobile Bravada. The i-series trucks are rebadged versions of the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon pickup trucks. Those trucks were jointly designed by GM's North American operations, GM do Brasil, and Isuzu; with Isuzu providing the chassis and GM providing the drivetrain. Isuzu has 360 dealers in the U.S., and sells an average of just two Ascenders per dealer per month. Plans to introduce a new Thai-built SUV, expected to be added for 2007, are shelved over issues of design standards for imports and tariff restraints. Rumors of Isuzu's withdrawal from the U.S. market are rampant. Despite extremely low sales figures for passenger vehicles, Isuzu North America announces its first profit-making in years, mainly due to restructuring cuts and sales of commercial trucks.

• 2006 - Production of the 7-passenger Ascender ends in February 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 products.

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