Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA) says its popular D-Max ute and MU-X large SUV aren’t going anywhere because Aussies won’t change their adventurous lifestyles any time soon – and it has at least three new and more efficient powertrains at its disposal to meet Australia’s strict new automotive emissions regulations.
The company set a new sales record in 2024, when it sold more than 48,000 vehicles for the first time and became Australia’s eighth best-selling auto brand despite having only two models in its range.
Both of them are large diesel-powered vehicles, which will face increasingly tough new CO2 emissions limits under the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) between mid-2025 and 2029, leaving it more exposed to hefty financial penalties than most other brands.
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Indeed, a recent industry report listed IUA as a ‘Tier 2’ auto brand that could face an existential threat from penalties imposed by the looming NVES.
In March 2024, the company itself called on the Australian Government to delay and rework the controversial NVES legislation, which it said could force some brands to exit the Australian market due to “excessive” penalties and a short timeframe.
But IUA managing director Junta Matsui has now reconfirmed the company’s commitment to Australia and the fact it continues to investigate several new powertrains that could enable both of its models to remain NVES-compliant in the long-term, including battery-electric (EV), mild-hybrid (MHEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and even extended-range electric (EREV) and fuel-cell electric (FCEV) technologies.
Asked at this week’s launch of the facelifted 2025 Isuzu MU-X whether and how IUA could guarantee its future amid Australia’s strict new emissions laws, Mr Matsui said: “We’re going to find a way for sure. We’re going to make a nice balance.
“We believe that the lifestyle of Australians… I don’t think people are going to change their lifestyle. It’s fit for the purpose.
“We try to find a nice balance between being fit for purpose for the Australian people and coping with the NVES targets.
“So we try to make it the best balance by talking of course to the government people and talking to the Asean development team, to try to find the solutions.”
IUA has a number of more efficient powertrain solutions available to it, including an all-electric version of the D-Max that goes on sale in Norway this year.
The D-Max EV was revealed in concept form in March 2024, when Isuzu’s ute division said it would also be released in right-hand drive markets including Thailand, the UK and Australia in due course.
While IUA deputy general manager Sadanori Sugita said it would be launched in Australia “in the near future”, Mr Matsui said his company would not lock in any electrified powertrains until full details of the NVES have been announced.
“We haven’t decided anything yet, frankly speaking,” he said. “We leave our options open. We try to minimise the impact to the market of course.
“We’re talking to the product development team, talking to Isuzu in Japan, and of course talking to the government side, because not many details have been disclosed yet, even though NVES is going to start in July.
“But our team is talking to the government side so many times but not much detail is disclosed or determined yet, so we need more discussion with the government side, to try to find the best solution for the Australian market, for our side and for the government as well.”
The D-Max EV prototype is powered by dual electric motors – a 40kW/108Nm unit on the front axle, and 90kW/217Nm motor on the rear – delivering combined outputs of 130kW and 325Nm.
Its 66.9kWh battery is shared with an electric version of the N Series light-duty truck announced last year and it’s claimed to matching the 3.0-litre diesel-powered version’s 3500kg towing capacity and 1000kg payload.
Isuzu has also revealed a 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain for the D-Max, but this is also yet to be officially confirmed for Australia.
Based around the company’s smaller 1.9-litre turbo-diesel and matched only with rear-wheel drive, the D-Max MHEV incorporates a tiny 370Wh/8.4Ah battery that takes the load off the engine by powering ancillary system’s like the Toyota HiLux’s V-Active system.
Outputs are yet to be revealed but if the HiLux MHEV is any guide, they may be unchanged from the 1.9L D-Max’s 110kW/350Nm figures.
“Officially it’s under consideration, because the Thai market and the market here is a completely different market,” said Mr Matsui of the 1.9-litre mild-hybrid D-Max. “We are under study, whether this product fits into this market or not.”
However, Mr Sugita said the release of both EV and MHEV powertrains in Australia within two years is “a real possibility”, and that the number of diesel engines available in the D-Max and/or MU-X here could swell to three with the addition of the all-new 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel revealed last November by Isuzu.
Codenamed RZ4F, the new engine is based on and replaces the current 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four (RZ4E) that powers entry-level versions of both the MU-X and D-Max (and the related Mazda BT-50) in Thailand.
But it’s yet to be confirmed for Australia, and Isuzu has denied suggestions it may also replace the long-running ‘4J’ 3.0-litre engine that continues to power Isuzu utes and SUVs in Australia and other markets.
For the record, the new ‘2.2 Ddi Maxforce’ engine produces 120kW of power at 3600rpm and 400Nm of torque over 1600-2400rpm, and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission (rather than a six-speed unit per the 1.9- and 3.0-litre diesels), which Isuzu says brings improved performance and fuel economy.
However, Mr Saguta said the new 2.2-litre will also eventually replace the 3.0-litre engine, but added that it was possible all three diesel engines would be available in Australia for a period.
“You’ll probably find that 2.2 will find its way into our market at a stage down the line, but whether or not we’re going to drop the 3.0-litre for that engine we don’t know yet,” cautioned IUA spokesperson Mark Harman.
“We’re looking at all the variables. Once the government sets NVES in stone and there are no more changes to be made, then we know what targets we have to meet and we’ll work towards those.
“There are a few powertrains under study. There is a strategy behind all of this to meet those NVES targets. One of those is obviously the existing powertrains that we have globally coming from Isuzu, one of which is that 2.2, but also investigating the probability or suitability of mild-hybrid and battery-electric vehicles as well.”
Further afield, however, there could be more powertrain options on the horizon for IUA. Asked whether a third electrified powertrain could eventually be sourced from Isuzu’s truck division for the D-Max or MU-X, specifically in the form of a PHEV or EREV, Mr Matsui said: “Of course we are talking to Isuzu and that’s one of the options.
“As a future option it’s still open. Of course it’s something we need. But I’m sorry we are not able to disclose our future product plan yet. But of couse there are discussions.
“Isuzu is not [just] doing light commercial vehicles. but also the truck side. They have some new technologies in the truck business as well, like hydrogen, so that’s going to be combined and integrated now.
“I don’t know when it’s going to happen but there are several options available. There are many technologies.”
Mr Matsui said it was understandable for industry experts to single out IUA as a brand at risk from the imminent NVES rollout, penalties for which will be accrued from July 2025 and payable by 2028.
“It’s very natural because we have only two products and Isuzu has grown up with diesel engines – even the Isuzu Gemini had a diesel engine. I used to drive one when I was a university student. It’s one of my favourite passenger cars,” he said.
“So it’s very natural for people to point out the viability of Isuzu in the Australian market. Motivation-wise it’s going to be very good for us.”
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