The new head of Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) said that the all-trucks manufacturer will focus on the innovation of their dealerships this year to maintain its leadership position in the trucks category despite admitting continuing economic challenges in the country.

In a chat during the Meet and Greet with the Media on Wednesday, Jan. 18, IPC President Tetsuya Fujita told reporters that they are still finalizing their sales growth projection for 2023 but “We are expecting much more than last year as the economy is getting better.”

Fujita has replaced Noboru Murakami, who assumed a role in Isuzu North American, handing the Isuzu business in that region.

Fujita, however, admitted that the domestic economy has some economic challenges due to serious issues on semiconductor global supply chain and the Russian war in Ukraine. “But we are still optimistic this year,” he said.

To maintain its leadership position in the truck category, Fujita said they will focus on developing “innovative facility” to support their dealership network. “We would like to be the best business partner for our customers,” he added.

“As the leading truck brand in the industry, we will continue innovating new products that will assist in the progress of the country while displaying more responsibility to the society and the environment through our Road to Progress vision,” he said in his speech at the event.

Meanwhile, Fujita also told reporters there will be no new model introduction this year noting that the new MUX model was only launched during the pandemic.

He also said there is no plan to bring the assembly of its pick-up truck D-Max back into the country at this point. But he stressed that D-Max has strong price competitiveness in the market and is appealing to customers.

Fujita also vowed to continue the same direction of his predecessors Murakami, whom he cited for his strong leadership.

For the 23rd year in 2022, the IPC has proven once again its truck supremacy in the industry. Based on report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association, Inc. (TMA), IPC has retained its number one truck brand ranking in 2022/

The CAMPI / TMA report showed that IPC dominated the Commercial Vehicles (CV) segment with its 4,680-unit sales in 2022, capturing 46.4 percent market share.

This is mainly attributed to the outstanding performance of Isuzu N-Series in Category III (light-duty trucks). With 2,952 unit-sales which is equivalent to 55.3 percent market share, Isuzu easily dominated Category III. IPC also exhibited good performance both in Category IV (medium-duty trucks) and Category V (heavy-duty trucks).

Isuzu’s more than two decades of truck domination is the result of the combination of world-class quality products paired with the excellent aftersales support offered by IPC through its dealer network nationwide.

To ensure that the quality of service provided to customers is topnotch, IPC continues to enhance its dealer facilities, as well as the knowledge and skills of dealer personnel, most specifically, field support personnel and service technicians.

With being a responsible partner to customers as its top priority, IPC has also been offering proper trainings to Isuzu truck owners and drivers to help them maximize their workhorse to gain more profit for their business.

IPC immediate past president Murakami stated, “As the leading provider of durable and reliable trucks, as well as best transport and business solutions to Filipinos, IPC would like to make a contribution to our customers’ business through our durable products, aftersales services and variety of trainings.”