The story of Isuzu in South Africa started in the early 1970’s with the launch of the Chevrolet Light Utility Vehicle (LUV). Imported from Japan, this was essentially Isuzu’s first vehicle offering and due to the brand’s instant success – especially within the local farming community – local production started in 1972 at the Kempston Road plant in the then Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). By 1973 Isuzu Trucks was introduced to the South African market.
The first KB, which is unique to the South African market, was released in 1979. Essentially, this was a facelifted LUV, but for the first time it was branded Isuzu. By the following year we saw the introduction of the KB40, the first petrol and diesel driven four-wheel drive Isuzu bakkie from Japan. By the 1980’s Isuzu was leading the global industry in the field of direct-injection diesel engines for light trucks with the introduction of products that featured both high outputs and low fuel consumption. To date, Isuzu has built over 83 million diesel engines and their bakkies are available in over a hundred countries worldwide.
Although the new D-MAX – the seventh generation
