Isuzu North America is creating a new production base to expand its vehicle supply capabilities to support the electrification of commercial vehicles in North America. The company purchased a 1,000,000-sq.-ft. facility on over 200 acres of land in Greenville County, South Carolina, that it will convert into a state-of-the-art, Isuzu-run assembly plant.
“The establishment of an Isuzu-owned and operated production base in the United States reflects both Isuzu’s commitment to, and success in, the North American market,” Noboru Murakami, president of Isuzu North America, said. “The plant will be optimally designed for our needs, streamline our processes, provide us with flexibility to react to changing market conditions, and position us for even greater growth in the North American Market.”
Once this facility is complete, it will become Isuzu’s second manufacturing facility in the U.S., joining an Isuzu assembly plant in Michigan, where the Isuzu FTR and gas-powered N-Series trucks are built.
Isuzu’s total investment in the plant (including land, building, tooling, and equipment) is expected to equal approximately $280 million. The plant will have a production capacity of 50,000 units by 2030 and will initially produce Isuzu N-Series Gas, N-Series Electric, and F-Series Diesel trucks. Initial assembly operations will begin in 2027 and will further expand in 2028, at which time, the plant is expected to employ more than 700 people.
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The new assembly plant will introduce a variable-model and variable-volume production system. This will allow the production of both internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles. It will be the first facility in the Isuzu Group to use a production line without conveyors or pits, implementing a line that maximizes flexibility and scalability. The plant’s quality assurance system will automate inspections to eliminate operational errors, ensure traceability of parts, and introduce image inspections and other methods to prevent the leakage of defective products.
This facility will accommodate in-house storage and processing, parts storage, vehicle production, and more—allowing Isuzu to consolidate processes for streamlined production and improved efficiency. The 200-plus acres also provide room to store all completed trucks at a single site. The Isuzu-run facility ensures the company has direct control over all assembly and logistics operations; it will also provide Isuzu with the flexibility and speed to meet the demands of the North American commercial vehicle market.
The plant is located close to Interstate 85, which connects Greenville to Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. It is also near I-26, which connects to the Port of Charleston. Isuzu worked closely with state and county officials in its selection of the site. Greenville County, in the Upstate region of South Carolina, is one of the fastest-growing industrial markets in the country and has a readily available labor pool for operations within the plant as well as a skilled workforce coming out of nearby colleges. Isuzu joins multiple automotive and trucking companies that have a presence in the region, including BMW, Volvo, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., and more.
