Isuzu is to use Saudi Arabia as a base for manufacturing trucks for export to the countries on the western side of the Persian Gulf starting next year.
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that, by assembling the trucks locally rather than exporting them directly from Japan, Isuzu can minimize the effects of the strong yen and better compete for what is expected to be a growing market for commercial trucks as Gulf nations step up infrastructure investment.
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The Saudi base will assemble trucks using parts supplied from the company’s operations in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and China.
Isuzu’s Saudi Arabia operation will begin assembling midsize trucks at the end of 2012 and make around 600 units for the domestic Saudi market in the first fiscal year.
The Nikkei added that, starting from 2013, the base will also export trucks to other Gulf nations and begin assembly of large trucks in addition to midsize vehicles, boosting total production capacity to 1,500 trucks annually.
After that it will begin making some big components for large trucks and also start assembling small trucks, growing annual capacity eventually to 25,000 trucks.
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