Isuzu eyes truck plan with China partner: report

The new project will involve Qingling Motors (Group) Co, the Chinese firm that Isuzu works with to produce light and midsize trucks, the Nikkei business daily said on Friday.

The new trucks, which will evolve from Isuzu's heavy-duty Giga series, are expected to go on sale in China and Japan around 2015, it added.

It said the Chinese market for large trucks stands at more than one million units a year, compared with roughly 30,000 in Japan.

Isuzu aims to lower production costs by standardising some parts and counter a strong yen by using cheap Chinese-made parts in trucks manufactured in Japan, the daily said.

The new vehicles will be assembled at a production line to be set up at Isuzu's Chinese joint venture plant.

Isuzu also plans to boost output of small and midsize trucks in response to growing demand, nearly doubling its annual production capacity in China to 200,000 units, Nikkei said.

The firm is seeking to increase its approximately 20 per cent stake in the joint venture by 5-10 percentage points. Overall, Isuzu is expected to spend 20-30 billion yen ($260-390 million) over the next few years to expand its operations in China.

Another truckmaker, UD Trucks, plans to work with Swedish parent AB Volvo to produce parts in China within a few years, Nikkei said. The parts will be used in trucks designed for emerging markets.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus had been using mostly domestically made parts in its Canter line of light trucks.

But the firm began importing about half of the parts when the truck was fully remodeled last November by making use of the parts procurement network of German parent Daimler AG, the daily said.

The two firms plan to start selling midsize trucks under a low-price brand in India by next year, Nikkei added.