Isuzu History

As one of the oldest companies in the Japanese automotive industry, Isuzu traces its beginnings to 1916, the year Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co. initiated plans for automobile production. In 1922, Japan's first domestically produced truck, a Wolseley model A-9, was completed. In 1934, after meeting Ministry of Trade and Industry standards, vehicles were renamed 'Isuzu' after the Isuzu River in the Ise Shrine area. This is the origin of the company name, which was changed to today's 'Isuzu Motors Limited' in 1949.
After World War II, development and production of trucks occurred at a feverish pace.
Isuzu trucks were needed to carry all kinds of products and foodstuffs, and they played a major role in reconstruction after the war. Isuzu's passion for trucks is firmly rooted in this period. Since that time, an endless variety of models from light-duty to heavy-duty trucks and buses have rolled off the Isuzu production lines, with each vehicle being put to hard use in support of economic growth.

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