New product boss for Isuzu Australia

Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) has appointed Matt Sakhaie as its Chief of Product, at an important juncture for the organisation with an all-new vehicle range arriving Down Under from 2025.

Sakhaie, who first joined IAL in 2010, has vast experience across the business, including engineering, at the helm of the off-highway Isuzu Power Solutions team and, in more recent times, managing the brand-wide product portfolio.

In an evolution of his previous role, Sakhaie now leads IAL’s growing product division, responsible for the Australian portfolio and its future direction.

The product division’s remit includes product development, homologation engineering and in-house, second stage manufacturing, all managed on-site at IAL’s Melbourne-based Product Development Centre and Isuzu Production Centre.

“We deliver a huge range of truck models and variants to a diverse range of customers across light, medium and heavy-duty requirements,” said IAL Director and Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Harbison.

“It’s a massive task, and one that we expect to become increasingly more complex in the coming years.

“In this respect, Matt’s experience of the industry and IAL’s business is invaluable, and his promotion reflects this.”

In 2025, Isuzu will be bringing its first all-new model line-up to the Australian market since 2008.

“This has required Matt and the Product division to engage closely with our parent company in Japan and the wider customer network to ensure the right model mix will be heading our way,” said Harbison.

For Sakhaie, Isuzu’s new range represents significant change. However, the philosophy of meeting customers’ needs remains the same.

“Isuzu has embraced the future of change with a commitment to supply a product range which offers operators compelling features and functionality including advanced safety systems, smarter and more efficient powertrains and ergonomic enhancements,” he said.

“We are also proactively working with our parent company, Isuzu Motors Japan, in the market development of fuel-agnostic powertrain platforms including battery electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.”

To address the increasingly complex customer and regulatory requirements, IAL has also recently enhanced the product team, including the appointment of Product Managers who are responsible for the lifecycle management of specific model ranges.