Isuzu Ute celebrates 15 years with 300,000th delivery

Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) has recently achieved two landmark milestones with the two-nameplate brand announcing that it sold and delivered its 300,000th vehicle in October, an accomplishment that comes as the company celebrated its 15-year anniversary in Australia.

IUA began its Australian journey in 2008 with the debut of the D-MAX ute. The MU-X SUV followed five years later in 2013. Over the years, both nameplates have become a staple of everyday Australian motoring earning their keep in the driveways of thousands of Australian homes.

“It is quite fortuitous that we welcomed our 300,000th vehicle to an Australian home while celebrating our 15-year anniversary at the same time,” remarked Isuzu Ute Australia Managing Director, Junta Matsui.

“Not only would I like to take this opportunity to thank every single customer that has chosen an Isuzu over the last 15 years, but I’d also like to thank not just the 19 dealers that have been with us from the start in 2008, but our whole dealer network. We certainly would not be celebrating two landmark achievements today if it weren’t for their remarkable commitment, loyalty, and service to the brand and our customers.”

“As our brand has grown, so too has our dealer network, which has grown to over 165 sites across the country; an expansive footprint that serves the 300,000 Isuzus on Australian roads.”

With 2023 shaping up to be a record year for new vehicle sales, both the D-MAX ute and MU-X SUV have sold in record numbers locally with 24,677 D-MAXs and 11,824 MUXs finding new homes this year alone; an accumulated total of 36,501 vehicles delivered to date, 1178 more than the brand’s final tally of 2022, which was 35,323.

Between October 2008 and the end of October 2023, a total of 218,620 D-MAX utes and 84,181 MU-X SUVs had been sold and delivered in Australia, an accumulative tally of 302,801 vehicles sold, as reported by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

This milestone celebrates the upward growth trajectory the brand has seen since its arrival in Australia. In April 2017, the two-vehicle brand sold its 100,000th vehicle, before doubling that effort to 200,000 vehicles sold, less than five years later, in February 2021.

As reported in the October 2023 FCAI VFACTS report, Australia’s two most-popular vehicle types — 1-tonne utes and SUVs — continue to lead the annual new vehicle sales charts, with the two segments responsible for three-quarters (78.2 per cent) of all new vehicles sold so far in 2023.

“With healthy levels of vehicle stock landing at dealers locally and this year shaping up to be the biggest year ever for our brand, we are optimistic that this positive trajectory will continue towards the end of the year as we aim for over 40,000 vehicle deliveries in 2023,” Junta Matsui concluded.

As IUA approaches the end of the year, the two-vehicle marque is currently positioned as Australia’s 10th best-selling automotive brand.