Mr. Hiro Kuramoto has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA).
Announcing the appointment, outgoing IUA Managing Director & CEO, Mr. Yasu Takeuchi said, "Hiro brings vast experience from leadership roles in one of the world's most competitive automotive markets and I am delighted that I am handing the reins to someone with that capability and perspective to lead IUA's future success."
Vacating the company's top position he has held since 2011, Mr. Takeuchi will return to Tokyo to take up a new position within the Mitsubishi Corporation, the parent company of IUA.
"During my six years at IUA the company has experienced phenomenal growth of which I am extremely proud," Mr. Takeuchi said.
"Our recent milestone of 100,000 accumulated sales is a testament to the great people behind our brand both here at IUA and in our dealerships, and the unwavering trust our customers have in our products – and with our new D-MAX and MU-X tracking well – I expect our double-digit growth to continue," he added.
Formerly based in Thailand, Mr. Kuramoto's previous experience includes his most recent posting as President of both Auto Technic (Thailand) Co., Ltd, and the Tri Petch Isuzu Service Co., Ltd, the aftersales arm of the world's largest Isuzu distributor in Thailand. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Kuramoto spent 22 years in various senior positions within Isuzu businesses in both Thailand and China.
"Yasu and the team at IUA have put me in the privileged position to be joining a company with a great history of achievement and I look forward to the exciting challenge of leading IUA to the next level of its prosperity – focusing not only on sustainable sales growth but also increasing our customer satisfaction and retention," Mr. Kuramoto said.
Mr. Kuramoto will officially take up his new appointment in Brisbane in July 2017.
About Isuzu UTE Australia
Based in Brisbane, Queensland, Isuzu UTE Australia was founded in 2008 bringing the award winning Isuzu D-MAX to Australia and then in 2013, the Isuzu MU-X 7 seat SUV. Despite being comparatively new to Australia, our global network is extremely well established with over 100 years of automotive experience and expertise behind us.
We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's largest trading and investment company, Mitsubishi Corporation, with which Isuzu Motors Limited has extensive business arrangements. Isuzu dates back to 1916 and is now one of the world's largest manufacturers of trucks and diesel engines. Producing heavy, medium and light-duty trucks, buses, passenger vehicle engines, marine and industrial-use diesel engines, Isuzu Motors is at the forefront of vehicle chassis and diesel engine technology.
Our resources and automotive knowledge is vast, illustrated by the quality of our product which is developed specifically for the Australian market. With a network of over 130 authorised Isuzu UTE dealers across every state and territory in Australia, we pride ourselves on providing the highest level of service and support throughout the entire country, which is validated by our numerous class-leading customer satisfaction awards.