Pioneer of new market Australia test drive Isuzu D-MAX

　 　 [XCAR test drive original]

　　　　Domestic pickup truck culture started relatively late compared with European and American countries. Both the market environment and consumers’ concept of car purchase are in a relatively immature stage. I believe that when many people talk about pickup trucks, they still link them with cheapness and freight for the first time. Of course, in the past two years, with the introduction of some American pickup trucks, a high-end pickup truck culture focusing on playing with cars has gradually emerged. Looking at the domestic auto market, the current situation of pickup trucks can be said to be serious. One is the cheap pickup truck based on freight, and the other is the American high-end pickup truck just mentioned. The pickup truck market between these two types is basically blank. The Isuzu D-MAX we test-drive today has a clear mission, which is to strive to be a pioneer in this market.

　　　　Since the D-MAX produced by Isuzu’s domestic joint venture manufacturer (Jiangxi Isuzu) has not been officially launched, we chose Australia, where Isuzu has a large number of pickup trucks and the pickup market is relatively mature, to get close contact with this model.However, after three months, we will be able to see the D-MAX model produced by Jiangxi Isuzu in the domestic market.

　　　　Since D-MAX is about to be produced in China, I have to talk about its manufacturer — — Jiangxi Isuzu. For consumers, this is a strange and young manufacturer. Jiangxi ISUZU is a joint-venture vehicle manufacturer established by Japanese Isuzu in China.It is jointly funded by Japanese Isuzu and jiangling motors Group, with the equity ratio of 50:50.

　　　　The model that Jiangxi Isuzu is about to put into production at present is D-MAX pickup truck, which is the protagonist of our test drive today. At the end of next year, Jiangxi Isuzu will also introduce a heavyweight SUV model for production. This model, named MU-X, has been listed in international markets such as Australia.

　　　　When it comes to the history of D-MAX, if you read the picture below, I believe it can bring back some memories. Isuzu pickup truck began to enter China from TF model. At first, it was introduced and produced by Qingling. Later, domestic independent brands began to copy this model.

　　　　Since it is a pioneer in the domestic mid-range pickup market, does D-MAX really have no competitors? From the perspective of head-on confrontation, there is really no pickup truck model in the domestic mid-range pickup truck market that can be similar to D-MAX in price, configuration and technical level. But from the perspective of positioning, it seems that only Toyota’s hilux can be regarded as a competitor.

　　　　Although Zhengzhou Nissan’s D22 pickup truck is similar to D-MAX in positioning and design, the D22 model is too old to compete with D-MAX in the same generation. The Nissan Navara pickup truck, which can really compete with D-MAX, has no plans to introduce it at present.

　　　　The positioning of Isuzu D-MAX was introduced by the author at the beginning, and it mainly focuses on the mid-range pickup market. In addition to the outstanding loading capacity of pickup trucks, D-MAX has excellent performance in the interior space and passability. Although it is the pioneer of mid-range pickup trucks in China at present, it is also in sync with the international level in terms of technology. However, if D-MAX wants to make some achievements in this strange emerging market, it is indeed difficult to see the current domestic pickup truck environment and road regulations. For example, in a first-tier city like Beijing, the driving of pickup trucks will still be greatly restricted, which is an unavoidable reality.