The Isuzu Thread

Isuzu D-Max Limited Edition celebrates 45 years of building bakkies in South Africa

Isuzu has been producing bakkies in South Africa for 45 years now and to celebrate the brand is releasing the new Limited Edition D-Max 45.

Priced at R906,100, it comes at a R36,600 premium over the Isuzu D-Max 3.0TD LSE 4x4 double cab that it’s based on, but the edition does come with a few additional features that will appeal to adventurous bakkie buyers.

For starters, the D-Max LSE’s chrome grille makes way for a gloss black unit accompanied by contrasting lower fog lamp accents, while 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels with unique silver ring centre caps continue the theme along with a black Rhonoman X-pedition canopy.

At the back end, a black Isuzu decal and 45-year badging set it apart while a tailgate assist feature and spray-on bed liner add further practical value to the package.

Five exterior colours are available: Desert Orange, Biarritz Blue, Islay Grey, Mercury Silver and Splash White.

 
Which top-10 automakers rely most on a single model?

Which of South Africa’s 10 best-selling automotive brands in July 2024 relied most on a single model? Let’s take a closer look at some intriguing sales statistics to find out…

Some automotive brands rely heavily on a single model, while others see their sales spread across several nameplates. Just how does this phenomenon play out between the most popular marques in South Africa? Well, we broke down the figures for Mzansi’s 10 best-selling brands in July 2024 to find out.

The calculation is a straight-forward one: simply take the sales effort of each firm’s best-selling model and divide it by that brand’s overall total for the month. Keep in mind that we used brand tallies here (for example, Volkswagen rather than the overall VW Group) and restricted this exercise to a single month. Right, let’s take a closer look at what turned out to be a fascinating set of figures…

1. D-Max for Isuzu – 79.2%

2. Ranger for Ford – 77.8%

3. Jolion for Haval – 75.3%

4. Tiggo 4 Pro for Chery – 67.8%

5. Magnite for Nissan – 55.8%

6. Grand i10 for Hyundai – 51.2%

7. Polo Vivo for VW – 45.2%

8. Kiger for Renault – 40.2%

9. Hilux for Toyota – 27.9%

10. Swift for Suzuki – 21.7%

 
Isuzu D-Max facelift and ‘sexier’ MU-X set for 2025

The head of Isuzu Motors South Africa says the facelifted D-Max bakkie and a “sexier” version of the MU-X adventure SUV will be introduced within the next 12 months…

Billy Tom, Isuzu Motors South Africa’s CEO and Managing Director, says the local market will see the introduction of the facelifted D-Max and a “sexier” version of the MU-X within the next year.

Speaking during an interview conducted in Cars.co.za’s custom-built podcast booth at Naamsa’s recent South African Auto Week 2024 in Cape Town, Tom suggested the D-Max – produced for the local market at Isuzu’s Struandale plant in the Eastern Cape – would benefit from a refresh in 2025, as would the imported MU-X.

“In the next 12 months, we will be doing a mid-cycle announcement on the D-Max, where we will do a facelift. On the MU-X, also – I mean, there is a new, sexier MU-X. Watch this space,” said Tom, who also serves as President of Naamsa.

Of course, the facelifted D-Max was revealed in Thailand back in October 2023, billed as a “significantly improved” version of the Japanese bakkie (which remains SA’s 3rd most popular bakkie, behind the likewise locally built Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger), complete with revised styling, an updated interior and various added features.

 
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