Isuzu

The company was established in 1916 as a joint automobile manufacturing venture between the Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and the Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Company. Since 1918, the company began producing trucks and cars under license from the British company Wolseley Motors. In 1937, the company was reorganized into an independent company, Tokyo Motors. In 1938, it began producing trucks under the Isuzu brand, which was named after the Isuzugawa River in Mie Prefecture; translated by Isuzu means “50 bells”. In 1942, truck production was spun off into Hino Motors, while Tokyo Motors continued to produce automobile chassis and diesel engines.

In 1949, the company changed its name to Isuzu Motors. In the early 1950s, the company's development was given impetus by supplying engines to the US Army during the Korean War. In the second half of the decade, the company began producing cars under license from the British Rootes Group. In the 1960s, the company introduced a number of new vehicle models, both trucks and cars, to the market, but not all of them were successful, and by the early 1970s, Isuzu Motors' financial position was in decline. In 1971, General Motors acquired a 34.2% stake in Isuzu Motors and began selling some models through its dealer network in the United States in 1972. In 1974, Isuzu Motors began producing the Opel Kadett C for the American market. In 1989, together with Subaru, a plant was built in Lafayette (Indiana). However, Isuzu was not able to achieve great success in the United States; things were much better in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand; successful joint ventures were also created in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Egypt; as of 1987, Isuzu was the largest truck manufacturer in the world. Despite this, Isuzu began to make losses in the early 1990s; To save the situation, General Motors sent its operating director, Donald Sullivan, to the company; the most important point of his program was to stop producing passenger cars, since it was this division that was generating losses. In 1998, GM increased its stake in Isuzu to 49% with an investment of $456 million, and construction began on a new plant in Ohio to produce DMAX diesel engines.

In 2006, General Motors sold its stake in Isuzu, leaving only the DMAX plant in Ohio. In 2008, Isuzu announced it would cease selling vehicles in the United States.