Express distribution and supply-chain solutions provider Gati-Kintetsu Express (Gati-KWE) has taken delivery of 50 units of Isuzu D-Max pick-up trucks. This is a significant cross-country order Isuzu Motors India (IMI) has bagged for the pick-up. Shigeru Wakabayashi, deputy managing director, Isuzu Motors India, handed over the vehicle keys to Bala Aghoramurthy, president and whole-time director, and Bablu Tewari, chief supply chain operations office, Gati-KWE, in Hyderabad, today. Gati-Kausar (a cold-chain arm of Gati Ltd) has been using a fleet of 4 D-Max Reefer trucks since March 2015.

Gati-KWE plans to deploy this new fleet of 50 D-Max pick-ups to further strengthen its last mile reach and connectivity from strategic locations to Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets in India.

Speaking at the occasion, Shigeru Wakabayashi said, “We are extremely happy to be associated with Gati-KWE, as this only demonstrates that our product is more superior in terms of reliability and efficiency in the Indian pick-up truck segment. The Isuzu D-Max is versatile and adding the product to Gati-KWE’s existing fleet of trucks will add strength to their business and deliver on their customer commitment.”

Isuzu rolled out the locally assembled D-Max range of pick-ups in India in 2014. The vehicle is designed to meet all practical requirements of end-users across applications like reefer, food and catering, distribution, hardware transportation and service vehicle, among others.

Isuzu Motors India is expanding its dealer network in the country and plans to open more outlets once localised production begins at its new factory at SriCity, in Andhra Pradesh. It currently has 27 dealership facilities.

This new facility is likely to commence commercial operations by early 2016, with the initial production capacity at 50,000 units a year. Isuzu will scale up the production capacity to 120,000 units a year, with an investment of Rs 3,000 crore. The company plans to achieve 100 percent percent localisation within three years of commencing production in 2016.