Isuzu to invest THB32bn (USD900m) in its Thai operations over the next five years as it looks to step up its transition to zero-emission vehicles.

Isuzu together with partner, Honda, last month began testing a prototype of the Giga Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck on roads in Japan.

This acquisition strengthens Hitachi’s (Hitachi Energy’s Grid-eMotion division**) position in the electric mobility sector by expanding its product portfolio and production capacity of its electric vehicle charging equipment.

Fuel Cell System Manufacturing announced that it has started series production of its hydrogen fuel cell systems at its 70,000-square-foot production facility in Brownstown, Michigan. The target is to halve the cost and double the durability compared with fuel cell systems currently on the market, bringing them in line with conventional diesel engines.

The eCanter was originally launched in 2017, with a new upgraded model made available since last year. It is sold in a growing number of markets in Asia, including Taiwan from last month.

Isuzu has announced plans to build an electric vehicle development and testing facility within its Fujisawa plant, to help it achieve its target of having a full range of carbon-neutral vehicles by 2030.

The new Hilux Champ was first unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo during October and went on sale in Thailand, the truck’s largest single market, at the Bangkok International Motor Expo at the end of November.

Japan’s market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw continued to recover in the third quarter of 2023, by 15% to 95,079 units.

Sales of commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw in East Asia’s seven main markets, excluding China, declined by over 8% to 326,720 units in the third quarter of 2023.

The new Super Great has been fully remodelled six years after its last major redesign in 2017.

The two companies have been working together since January 2020 on verifying the compatibility of fuel-cell systems for heavy-duty trucks.

The factory employed 1,070 staff and produced 2,100 TBR tyres a day. Further reasons for closure included the impact on local communities, issues with the rubber supply chain and the overall profitability of the factory.