Isuzu USA Production History : 1989-2008

The Isuzu Rodeo

You may not have known that Isuzu vehicles were once made in the US, but they were. It was an unusual situation that ended up not being sustainable. The article here only covers light commercials, not some heavier ones that were also made Stateside. It also only covers what was made in the US, not imported vehicles.

The seeds were sown when GM took a third shareholding in Isuzu in the early 1970's. Initially vehicles were sent from Japan and sold under GM nameplates, but in 1981 Isuzu introduced its own brand to the US. Then it got in to local manufacturing. It was too small in sales to go it alone so needed a collaboration. Here's a summary of what happened.

Pickups: Isuzu joined with Subaru in the Lafayette, Indiana plant (SIA) in 1989 producing the P'up small pickup.  The P'up ended its run at the plant in 1994, but US pickup production continued in 1996 as the Hombre, a Chevrolet light truck (S-10) made by GM for Isuzu. That ran until the year 2000. By 2005, Isuzu turned to GM again for a pickup, this time for the i-series mid sized truck (Chevy Colorado). That lasted until 2008.

SUVs: In 1990, the Rodeo SUV was also assembled at the SIA plant. In 2001, the Axiom mid sized SUV was also made at the facility with both of them ending their run in 2004. In 2002 the GM provided the Ascender mid sized SUV (Chevy TrailBlazer) which continued to 2008.

The gradual ending: Isuzu's joint sharing of the SIA plant lasted until 2002, when Isuzu sold its share of the facility to Subaru. That same year, Isuzu left Canada where its vehicles were mainly sold through Saturn-Saab dealerships. When the Rodeo and Axiom models ended in 2004, sales for Isuzu in the US declined quickly. By 2008, it was all over when Isuzu decided to leave the US altogether.

Summary: Isuzu never had a strong passenger car lineup and relying on a limited SUV and pick-up range was never going to be enough. Being a fringe player can work in other markets but not in the US.

PS. Putting this article together wasn't easy and I looked to many sources for information, not all of which were in agreement. If anyone can add anything to or refine what I have presented, please let me know.

Year	Light Trucks					Annual	US Est
Model	Pick Up	Ascendr	Rodeo	Axiom	Unsure	Prod	Sales
1989	2,450	-	-	-	-	2,450	128,000
1990		-		-	34,500	34,500	122,000
1991		-		-	58,400	58,400	117,400
1992	24,900	-	45,200	-	-	70,100	115,600
1993	21,500	-	55,400	-	-	76,900	123,900
1994	3,350	-	60,900	-	-	64,250	128,800
1995	100	-	66,700	-	-	66,800	113,300
1996	16,800	-	67,000	-	-	83,800	99,100
1997	14,800	-	59,300	-	-	74,100	97,800
1998	16,600	-	86,600	-	-	103,200	108,500
1999	6,600	-	76,000	-	-	82,600	103,400
2000	-	-	79,500	-	-	79,500	98,100
2001	-	-	56,800	11,700	-	68,500	82,400
2002	-	1,900	21,700	7,000	-	30,600	53,000
2003	-	4,000	20,300	5,000	-	29,300	30,300
2004	-	11,700	11,300	1,900	-	24,900	27,600
2005	3,200	6,200	-	-	-	9,400	12,200
2006	4,000	2,400	-	-	-	6,400	8,600
2007	4,000	2,500	-	-	-	6,500	7,100
2008	700	300	-	-	-	1,000	4,800
Total	119,000	29,000	706,700	25,600	92,900	973,200	1,568,900
Average	9,917	4,833	54,362	6,400	-	51,221	78,445