Beginning this year, commercial vehicle customers throughout Canada will be able to purchase and have serviced the Isuzu industry-leading line of class 3 - 5 low cab forward medium duty trucks.

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc. has established Isuzu Commercial Truck of Canada, Inc., a distributor for its operations in Canada. The new company, ICTC, will import and sell Isuzu commercial vehicles and provide parts and service support -- strengthening its overall sales and service network in North America.

"Establishing the Isuzu brand in Canada will give us the opportunity to offer great trucks in a growing market, giving customers more choices when it comes to selecting the right truck for their business," said Makoto Kawahara, President of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. "We're excited to share our products and philosophy of customer service with commercial truck buyers in Canada."

Isuzu brings to Canada the best-selling cab-over brand in the U.S. since 1986. Of the nearly 400,000 Isuzu-built diesel trucks sold in North America since 1984, more than 83 percent are still registered and in service.

An Isuzu distributor in Canada will offer direct sales and service support, giving Canadian customers greater access to top-selling Isuzu trucks and award-winning customer service. Previously, Isuzu-built LCF vehicles were available in Canada only as GMC W-Series-branded trucks.

"Customers may have been familiar with our products, but not the Isuzu brand," said Kawahara. "With ICTC, the Isuzu brand will strengthen an already well-established and respected product."

Isuzu Motors Limited plans to boost and strengthen its sales organizations, aiming to expand overseas sales of its commercial vehicles. In Canada, the plan is to further increase sales by establishing an Isuzu network of dealers, in addition to the existing sales network of GMC W-Series dealers. The vehicles will be imported by ICTC from the United States and marketed through a sales network of local dealers.

ICTC is capitalized at one million Canadian dollars (approximately 100 million yen) and is 100-percent held by Isuzu Commercial Trucks of America, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited in Japan. ICTC will have offices in Toronto.

The Canadian commercial truck market for classes 3-7 is approximately 16,000 units, of which the Low Cab Forward segment represents about 14 percent. Sales of the Isuzu product badged as the GMC W-Series, sold by GMC Commercial Dealers in Canada, were 700 units in 2006. The new company will sell both gas and diesel low-cab forward trucks in classes 3-5. Projected 2007 sales for the combined GMC and Isuzu networks is 1,000 units, with a goal of 2,000 by 2010.