New boss at Isuzu Malaysia
Isuzu Malaysia Sdn Bhd has announced the appointment of Kimitoshi Kurokawa as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer to replace the outgoing Takashi Hata, who had served the company since 2009. Joining Kurokawa in the office is Daisuke Ishida, who is appointed in the newly created Chief Operating Officer position for the company.
Both officers bring a wealth of experience with them. Kurokawa has spent 28 years in Isuzu Motors Ltd since graduating with a degree in Economics from Japan’s Keio University. He was recently General Manager of International Department No. 5 handling the entire ASEAN market. Ishida, meanwhile, has stints in Thailand and Japan listed in his resume.
Sizing up his task at hand, Kurokawa said that, “Malaysia is a key market for Isuzu as it has enjoyed a strong brand acceptance and excellent product reputation. This is the bedrock for us to grow the business with a stronger line-up of products, quicker response to customer requests and better communication with our principals and manufacturing facilities.”
Under the new setup, Ishida will be overseeing the company’s operations in both sales and after sales. Kurokawa noted that, “With this new structure, I believe we will have a much more efficient and customer-centric organization and will enjoy a much closer relationship with our principals in Japan. Ultimately, Isuzu customers will be able to benefit from better products that are tailored to their needs, quicker delivery of vehicles and improved dialogue to address their specific demands.”
Isuzu has also declared its intent on strengthening its presence in Malaysia. The company currently enjoys a 20% market share in the 13,000 unit per annum light duty truck market. The target is to improve this figure to 40% within two years. The company’s current model range in Malaysia consists of of the D-Max and N-Series light trucks. Plans are in place to expand the line-up to include the F-Series medium duty trucks.
Picture: Official Isuzu Malaysia release.
