Isuzu Motors India launches MU-7 Automatic at Rs 23.90 lakh

Isuzu Motors has launched an automatic variant of its MU-7 SUV in India at a starting price of Rs 23.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). In addition to the automatic gearbox, the MU-7 auto also gets a few new features.

There's a new three-spoke steering wheel with audio controls, a new music system with satellite navigation, rear parking sensors and a rearview camera (for which, the touchscreen doubles up as display). Moreover, the dashboard now sports a dual-tone beige and black theme.

Powering the car is the same 2999cc, four-cylinder common-rail turbo-diesel engine that does duty on the standard MU-7. The engine develops 161bhp and 36.7kgm of torque.

The Isuzu MU-7 Automatic will be sold in India alongside the five-speed manual variants already on offer and will rival the likes of the Toyotra Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Ford Endeavour and SsangYong Rexton. 

Isuzu Motors India currently assembles CKD kits of the MU-7 at the Hindustan Motors facility in Thiruvallur, near Chennai. The MU-7 will be available at the company’s exclusive dealer outlets across 25 locations in the country including Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Madurai, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Cochin, Calicut, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Gurgaon, Indore, Vadodara, Kolkata, Jalandhar, Jodhpur, Chandigarh and Nagpur.

Meanwhile, construction work is underway on the company’s upcoming manufacturing plant site in SriCity, TADA, Chitoor District, Andhra Pradesh. 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 production capacity to 120,000 units in the future with the accumulated investment of Rs 3,000 crore. The company plans to open 60 dealership outlets across the country by 2016 and aims to have 160 by 2020.