Isuzu 2008 Annual Report Download - page 15

13
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Interview with the Management n Isuzu Motors Limited Annual Report 2008
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2. Interview with
Yoshihiro Tadaki
Executive Vice President
(Senior Division Executive,
Japan Sales Headquarters,
Quality Assurance Division)
Q1: What are the trends in domestic truck demand, and
how do you plan to increase Isuzu sales in the future?
A1: Demand has been stalled since 2007, reflecting a post-2006
drop-off in demand for vehicles complying with emissions regula-
tions. We believe this situation will continue for the time being,
and it is impossible to rule out the possibility of a longer-term drop
in demand due to the fact that higher fuel prices driven by soar-
ing crude oil prices have created a crisis in management for users
of trucks. In this environment, we will seek to secure revenue by
working with customers to reduce lifecycle costs, which has been
a consistent theme for us for a long time.
Q2: What initiatives are you employing to maintain and
increase revenue for Isuzu’s domestic business?
A2: Naturally, we will work to strengthen sales of new vehicles in
the midst of the demand slowdown, just like we will work to maxi-
mize revenue in our domestic business by taking advantage of the
Isuzu Network (INW), which we established in 2006. More specifi-
cally, we plan to deal with intense competition in the industry by
having sales companies specialize in and focus on their basic func-
tions—their new vehicle sales and service and parts businesses.
INW will support sales companies by offering assistance in their
other areas of responsibility, including asset management, capital
procurement, sales financing, insurance, used vehicles, and truck
bodies, to achieve higher levels of efficiency.
Q3: How has the market reacted to the new ELF and
FORWARD?
A3: The market has reacted favorably to the models’ premium
quality and balanced characteristics in every area. The reaction
has been particularly favorable with regard to these models’ excel-
lent fuel economy due to the high level of customer interest in this
area, which reflects last year’s surge in fuel prices. We have also
received good reviews of the models’ quietness, which reduces
driver fatigue and improves work conditions early in the morning
and late at night. Another key point is the higher loading capacity
made possible by a lightweight design. The FORWARD in particu-
lar has anticipated customer needs by quickly complying with the
medium-duty license enacted last year.
Q4: What are your plans for the Isuzu’s advanced CV
Telematics “Mimamori-Kun Online Service”?
A4: Since launching the service in 2004 we have already signed
up 20,000 vehicles. Transport operators already recognize that
Mimamori-Kun is the most advanced driving control service, and
I think we now almost completed the first step of getting market’s
recognition.
Going forward, it will be important that we share individual
vehicle data among departments for use as marketing data,
as we intended to do since we developed the service, and we
need the departments to put that data to effective use in their
operations. This initiative will enable us to propose the best pos-
sible way for customers to use their vehicles, including mainte-
nance, and to propose vehicle and truck body solutions.
We will be working to achieve a true operational guarantee
and failure analysis capabilities as only Mimamori-Kun can.