The results which have come from the purchase by Isuzu of the UD Trucks brand from Volvo are still unclear.
It has been several years since the takeover was announced, but very little information has emerged about the implications of any technology sharing between the Swedish truck maker and Isuzu.
One feature has emerged: the new Isuzu Giga replacement in some markets is basically a UD Quon rebadged with some modifications and sold as an Isuzu. How that will play out in the Australian market is still unclear.
“It’s really interesting in terms of how long these things take to play out,” said Andrew Harbison, Isuzu Director and Chief Operating Officer.
“It really took two or three years before we started to see the first iterations of what it was going to be. We’re going to see a common derived engine in the new F Series that will be here in Australia next year. That’s taken five, six years for that to feed into the offering.”
Things like the new mobility solutions and some of the technology that the Europeans like Volvo lead the way with will start to feed into the Isuzu product portfolio moving forward.
Andrew was willing to say that the replacement for the Isuzu Giga in the Australian truck market will have an Isuzu badge on it, but was unwilling to elaborate further.
The Volvo Alliance, when it was announced, was not spoken of as a short term plan. It was talked about as being a 20-year alliance.
“We will ensure that the product we have here in Australia with an Isuzu badge on it will be in the same vein as all of our other product, that it will be done in such a way that it will be absolutely 100 per cent for the Australian market,” said Andrew.
On the question of whether other Volvo owned technology, outside of the specific UD technology in the Quon, will also be introduced elsewhere in the Isuzu range, Andrew said: “Initially, probably not from a from a hard componentry point of view.
“Twenty years ago, a truck was nearly all metal and not much else, whereas now it operates in a very complex environment with a lot of systems and processes. That’s where we’ll see a lot more of the Volvo involvement across the range in years to come.”
Design Process
The design process for the new 2025 Isuzu range began over six years ago and the designers decided to work from a blank piece of paper and develop the design from the ground up. One big project was deciding how to integrate the fast changing technology, especially around safety systems.
“The biggest challenge for us was, to move from complexity to flexibility and introduce a new platform, a new architecture and a new philosophy of the core dynamics,” Isuzu Chief of Product Matt Sakhaie said.
“Customer preference, that’s the major drive behind these changes. “What we found through the Isuzu ‘Future of Trucking’ report (FoT) is that the customer is demanding more advanced technology.
“They’re expecting more intelligent vehicles to help them to be more effective and efficient to solve their transportation problems.”
There is a need to add some items to the safety suite in 2025 as three new ADRs come into effect next year.
ADR 35/07 mandates electronic stability control (ESC), ADR 97/00 brings in advanced emergency braking (AEB). Then, later in the year new emissions rules in ADR 80/04 come into effect, mandating lower nitrogen oxide and particulate matter limits in exhaust gases, bringing Australia down to Euro 6 or its equivalent.
On the N Series models, the safety suite includes all of the safety systems carried over from the previous model, plus, a number of new ones fitted as standard.
Full speed active cruise control (F-ACC), as Isuzu calls it, uses the front facing camera and radar to maintain an adjustable safe distance behind a vehicle in front to the truck. This is available on all models using the auto transmission.
There is also miss acceleration mitigation (MAM), a system popular in Japan, which uses sensors on the truck to detect whether the driver has accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake in a dangerous situation.
When it comes to the F Series models there is an auto lighting system, aka ALS, alongside the F-ACC also seen in the N Series. The heavier FX and FY models will include all of the above, plus ESC and lane keep assist (LKA).
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