Newly installed Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) President Hajime Koso is eyeing to strengthen the presence of Isuzu trucks and buses in the local market.
“Trucks and buses are important segments for the Philippines, when we sell these we want to minimize down time of the trucks, listen to customer needs and contribute in accessibility to logistics,” said Koso, who officially replaced Nobuo Izumina at the turnover ceremony on Monday evening.
The local industry is seeing gradual hike in trucks and buses sales despite the proliferation of cheaper Chinese-branded counterparts.
IPC plans to introduce new models in these two segments and expand its after-sales service.
Complementing this thrust is the plan of Japan’s Isuzu Building Corp. (IBC), which Izumina will now be heading, to possibly support truck and bus assembly in the Philippines. IBC builds modified chassis and special bodies for trucks such as dump trucks and cement mixers.
“Eighty percent of our business in IBC is for the domestic industry in Japan and the 20 percent is for export markets. They expect me to expand this business, which includes the Philippines,” Izumina said.
Currently, IPC’s special body truck parts are supplied by local body builder-partner Almazora Motors Corp., while IPC’s own production is limited to chassis.
With IBC possibly expanding services here, IPC may import the units now as completely built units.
“We can start importing the special bodies now or bring them in as complete built up; but this depends on IBC Japan’s plan,” said Joseph Bautista, Sales Division assistant head for IPC.
IPC, however, is seen to face tough competition in the trucks and buses segment, as most operators prefer secondhand vehicles, or Chinese-brand trucks and buses, which are 30 percent cheaper than Isuzu offerings.
IPC is eyeing a 30-percent sales hike this year to reach 18,000 units, with most of its growth to be driven by the Isuzu Mu-X.