Milestone for local production of Isuzu trucks

Opinions may differ on the good or bad charm of Friday the 13th. For Isuzu Truck South Africa, however, the day was one for celebration as the 30 000th Isuzu truck rolled off the production line at General Motors South Africa (GMSA) last Friday.

The milestone was achieved during an eight-year period of production under Isuzu Truck South Africa, after a joint venture for truck manufacturing was formed between Isuzu Motors Limited of Japan and GMSA. The consolidated company was then named Isuzu Truck South Africa.

According to Marchand Mc Donald, Isuzu Truck plant manager, the Kempston Road plant (located in Port Elizabeth) builds 47 different model derivatives, varying from 1,5 to 40 t carrying capacity.

“On the drivetrain side we use four engine types and three different transmission types: manual, automated-manual and fully automatic transmissions.

“The other interesting fact is that we build rear-wheel and all-wheel drive trucks, like a 4×4. In addition, we build the traditional single-cab configuration, as well as crew cabs,” Mc Donald adds.