Double digit growth for a decade is now a tantalisingly realistic goal for Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) after an extremely strong first half of the year. The ambitious goal was set after 9 years of double digit growth since commencement of business in 2008, with IUA successfully finishing 2017 with 25,804 sales and a 10.4% growth year on year.
The growth of IUA over 9 short years has been nothing short of remarkable, with sales totalling 10,209 just five years ago in 2013, illustrating just how rapidly the brand has grown in two extremely competitive segments.
The D-MAX continues its stronghold in the increasingly competitive 1 tonne Ute segment with 2,223 sales, outselling Nissan Navara (1,621), Mazda BT-50 (1,426) and VW Amarok (1,250) achieving 5th position overall in the 1 tonne Ute segment in June 2018. The D-MAX 4x2 achieved an outstanding 2nd position in the 1 tonne Ute 4x2 segment with 607 sales recorded, beating out both Ranger and BT50 and slotting in behind the Hilux.
The MU-X also continues to dominate as the best-selling Ute-based SUV, recording a huge 32% segment share year to date. Since the start of the year, the MU-X has clocked up 4,385 units, overtaking the CX-9 and taking 4th position in the SUV-Large segment.
This positions IUA as the 13th largest sales brand in Australia (ahead of well-established brands such as BMW, Audi, Suzuki and Jeep) with year to date sales growth of 10.6% giving IUA the 2nd highest sales growth among the top 15 brands.
IUA Managing Director, Mr. Hiro Kuramoto, said the recent updates to the range and the competitive aftersales service programs have helped ensure the strong start to the year.
“Since launch, our products have continuously evolved on the back of customer feedback, resulting in our ability to deliver honest, reliable products that are not only fit for purpose, but exceed our customers’ expectations.” stated Mr. Kuramoto.
“Customer satisfaction is a defining factor in our ongoing success,” he continued, “which combined with the quality of our product and our after-sales care package defines the positive customer experience that people expect when purchasing and maintaining a vehicle.”
“I believe that if we can continue to respond to customer feedback and deliver on our promises, our brand will continue to grow from strength to strength.” said Mr. Kuramoto.
IUA has had its excellent product reliability and after-sales service claims validated again in the ongoing Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, which placed IUA 2nd for four consecutive months (January to April 2018). Over the last year, IUA’s score was up 2.4% taking it to 96.4% (to end April 2018), well above the average industry score.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary of operation in Australia this year, the ongoing success of the brand and the drive for further sales growth for the 10th consecutive year is a strong indicator of exciting times ahead for the brand.
Mr. Kuramoto is quietly optimistic; “Our results so far this year have deepened our confidence in achieving our target of a decade of double-digit growth in 2018, and while we are well aware of the challenges ahead of us in the second-half of the year, I am confident we can sustain our rapid growth with more customers than ever preparing to go their own way.”