The state of the truck industry in South Africa can be considered as becoming somewhat congested and competitive as more and more new manufacturers enter the market with promises of greater things.

Having been in the forefront of their market segment for many years, particularly since 2007, Isuzu Trucks in South Africa has obviously been doing things right, not the least of which has been its ability to read its market in great detail and subsequently offer a vehicle for just about any application.

In the light- to heavy-duty range, Isuzu Truck South Africa has had no peer in recognising opportunities to fill any void that may exist in its market requirements.

The backing from Isuzu Motors Japan, which has one of the longest histories of any vehicle manufacturer, has contributed greatly to the success of the local company.

During the past six years, Isuzu Trucks has not only maintained its market position but have also grown its business, with the effects of the tsunami in March 2011 well behind it.

Craig Uren, chief operating officer of Isuzu Truck South Africa, is upbeat with the performance of the company in the past six months. He says: “In the short six years since its inception, Isuzu Truck South Africa has performed exceptionally well, mainly as a result of a brand that has, with reliability as the foundation, developed a world standard and taken the lead in turning the world’s highest standards in diesel technologies and commercial vehicles into products.”

The past six months has seen Isuzu Truck South Africa maintaining its growth pattern, which has been synonymous with the brand year-on-year since 2009. From January 2013 to date, the company has outperformed the market with overall sales up by 11.3% compared with the corresponding period in 2012. In the medium commercial market where Isuzu is at its strongest, the gain has been from 17.4% in 2012 to 19.2% YTD in 2013.

“The introduction of the automated manual transmission (AMT) into our range has contributed greatly to the demand for the products as we at Isuzu are the leaders in this innovative technology in medium to heavy commercial vehicles,” comments Uren. The benefits of the AMT for operators have proven to be immense as it has helped to reduce operating maintenance costs considerably. Clutch adjustments and replacements are a thing of the past in AMT-powered vehicles and the safety factor where the driver concentrates on the road instead of continuous gear changing makes the AMT concept high on the priority list for any operator. The transmission and engine ECM units optimise the gear selection for any terrain and road condition – the transmission ensures that a driver will always be in the correct gear ratio to suit the load.

In South Africa, AMT is unique to the Isuzu N-Series in the medium range trucks and with the increasing demand, more and more models in the range are being sold with the AMT transmission as a standard feature. This feature has now been extended to the heavy-duty F-Series with increasing successes in the field.

The AMT transmission has been in the market for some time now and the positive feedback that Isuzu Trucks is receiving on a daily basis from the market points to huge savings in operating costs.

Operators have found that with the AMT, drivers have eliminated the over-revving hazards prevalent in the medium truck market where an unprofessional driver majority tend to treat trucks like light commercial delivery vehicles.

Most operators prefer their drivers to remain in ‘Econo’ mode, which selects the gear most suitable for fuel economy and ensures that gear changes will occur between 1 000 to 1 500 rpm. In ‘Normal’ driving mode, gear changes occur between 2 500 to 3 000 rpm.

Isuzu N-Series with AMT is now the market leader in terms of lifetime costing and minimal environmental impact. In addition, every feature on this technically advanced medium truck also makes it driver friendly and is setting the standard for future cost efficiency among medium truck operators.