GM, Isuzu to end pick-up truck development partnership

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Reuters  /  July 22, 2016

General Motors and Isuzu Motor Co. have agreed to cease collaboration on the development of mid-size pick-up trucks made in Asia, ending a joint product development relationship that dates back to the mid-2000s. 

Isuzu said on Friday the two companies had ended the deal under which Isuzu since 2014 had been producing pick-up trucks at its plant in Thailand, which the two companies had marketed under their own brands around the world.

Isuzu and compatriot Mazda Motor Co. earlier this month announced that Isuzu would produce next-generation pick-up trucks for Mazda outside North America.

"After detailed discussions with GM, we have agreed that we will continue pick-up truck development on our own," Isuzu said.

Isuzu, which specializes in light trucks and commercial vehicles, had developed its D-Max pick-up truck under the agreement with GM, marketing the model in Asia and beyond, focusing on markets including Australia and the Middle East.

GM did not make a similar filing but confirmed the collaboration with Isuzu, which provided the U.S. automaker the Colorado pick-up truck and its sport-utility variant Trailblazer for Southeast Asian markets and Australia, has been terminated.

It was not clear who – GM or Isuzu – asked to terminate the collaboration.

GM said in statement that the two companies will continue to collaborate on a range of other projects even though it is ceasing to jointly develop midsize trucks.

Those other projects include joint vehicle parts and vehicle manufacturing in North and South America, Africa and Asia.

"Both GM and Isuzu agree that due to unique requirements for each company, joint development of the next-generation midsize pick-up truck for GMI markets is no longer the optimal model for this project,” Isuzu said.

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Isuzu and Mazda enter Pick-up Truck Collaboration Agreement

Isuzu Motors Press Release  /  July 11, 2016

Isuzu Motors Limited (hereafter "Isuzu") and Mazda Motor Corporation (hereafter "Mazda") have reached a basic agreement on next-generation pick-up truck collaboration, allowing Isuzu to enhance its product competiveness and Mazda to strengthen its product line-up and maintain own-brand market coverage.

Isuzu will produce next-generation pick-up trucks for Mazda, based on Isuzu's pick-up truck model.

Isuzu and Mazda have developed a collaborative relationship for more than 10 years, with Isuzu producing for Mazda trucks for the Japanese market. This agreement reinforces the continuous long-term relationship between Isuzu and Mazda.

“The Agreement”

·         Model: Next-generation pick-up truck produced by Isuzu

·         Producer: Isuzu Motors Limited

·         Purchaser: Mazda Motor Corporation

·         Sales area: Worldwide except North America

·         Start of sales: To be determined

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GM and Isuzu have been jointly producing pickups in Thailand for the global market since 2004.

But the GM–Isuzu relationship dates back to 1972 with the Chevrolet LUV pickup.

In October 2011, the jointly developed 2012 model year Isuzu D-Max and Chevrolet Colorado was launched in Thailand for the global market.

https://isuzuute.com.au/d-max/overview.aspx

http://isuzu-tis.com/4door-page/

http://en.chevrolet.co.th/cars/colorado/model-overview.html

In Brazil, the global market Colorado is called the S-10.

http://www.chevrolet.com.br/picapes/s10-high-country.html

The U.S. market Colorado/Canyon, derived from the global market truck, was introduced in 2015. It’s available with the same 2.8-liter Thailand-produced diesel engine.

Like the body-on-frame Ford Everest which uses the global Ford Ranger platform, Chevrolet offers the Trailblazer in the global market which shares the D-Max/Colorado platform.

http://en.chevrolet.co.th/cars/trailblazer/model-overview.html

The upcoming Chevrolet-badged Isuzu N-Series U.S. market light truck cooperation, and the 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 diesel-producing GM-Isuzu DMAX Ltd. joint venture in Moraine, Ohio (60% owned by GM / 40% owned by Isuzu Diesel Services of America) are unaffected.

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GM, Isuzu end pickup truck tie-up in Asia; GM eyes more upscale market

Automotive News  / July 22, 2016

General Motors and Isuzu Motor Co. have agreed to stop working together on developing midsize pickup trucks made in Asia, as the U.S. automaker focuses on the higher end of the market while the Japanese firm sticks to selling vehicles for everyday commercial purposes.

The automakers said on Friday they had cancelled their pickup truck deal struck in 2014, the latest under a joint product development arrangement that began in 2006.

They added that separate collaboration agreements, including one for commercial vehicles in the U.S., remained intact.

"The direction each company wanted to take (for the vehicles) was changing," an Isuzu spokesman said, adding that the Japanese truck maker intended to continue making trucks to be used as workhorse vehicles in markets including Australia, the Middle East, and Asia.

"Both GM and Isuzu agree that due to unique requirements for each company, joint development of the next-generation midsize pickup truck for (GM) markets is no longer the optimal model for this project," GM said in a statement.

Under the agreement, Isuzu, which specializes in light trucks and commercial vehicles, had developed its D-Max pick-up truck, marketing the model in Asia and beyond, focusing on markets including Australia and the Middle East.

GM produced a version of its Colorado pick-up trucks and Trailblazer SUVs for Asian and Australasian markets. The Asia-produced Colorado pickup is different from a model sold under the same name in the U.S., which GM has developed on its own.

One GM executive said the "unique requirements" for GM are about the strategic shift it began making last year in Southeast Asia where it is now trying to focus more on competing in the higher end of the region's truck and SUV markets.

Despite the obvious benefits of collaborating on development such as sharing costs, the executive, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to discuss the move, said that GM had decided not to try to copy its Japanese rivals in Southeast Asia where brands like Isuzu, Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. dominate.

"It doesn't make sense for us trying to copy the business strategy of the Japanese rivals in Southeast Asia," the executive said.

GM's revamped strategy is especially pronounced in Thailand, where the automaker is now launching sleeker pick-up trucks.

Isuzu and compatriot Mazda Motor Corp. earlier this month announced that Isuzu would produce next-generation pickup trucks for Mazda outside North America.

Last year, GM said it would return to the medium-duty commercial truck business in the U.S. after a seven-year hiatus. GM plans to sell trucks from Isuzu Motors as rebadged Chevrolets, the companies announced. They include six so-called low-cab forward models.