Isuzu brings it’s sucessful D-MAX pick-up to India

There is no denying a pick-up’s practicality when you think of it as a commercial vehicle (CV). Isuzu has tapped into this budding segment with their D-MAX Space Cab. This is a niche market, dominated by players like Mahindra and Tata with only a couple of models each in their bag. But Isuzu claims that in a decade’s time, India will grow to be the world’s largest 1-ton pick-up truck market.

The D-MAX comes loaded with a 2.5-litre engine packing 134bhp of peak power at 3600rpm and 294Nm of torque at 1800rpm. However, there is no 4x4 option on offer. The D-MAX is a single cab truck with the highlight being a foot and a half worth of space behind the driver and passenger seat, hence the ‘Space Cab’ moniker. Payload capacity is nearly 1.2 tons which again is pretty impressive.

The pick-up will be assembled at the Hindustan Motors plant in Chennai, which should ensure competitive pricing of the product. The same plant also churns out Isuzu’s MU-7 Sports Utility Vehicle. Work has begun on a new manufacturing facility at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh which will be complete by 2016. While there isn’t any word on the pricing and options that come with the D-Max, expect it to be quite competitive.