Isuzu To Build New EV Truck Factory In The U.S.

Isuzu Trucks will expand its manufacturing footprint in the United States.
The company will build a new factory in South Carolina.
The facility will assemble both electric and combustion medium-duty trucks.

Isuzu Trucks will build a new manufacturing facility in the United States that will assemble both battery-powered models and combustion vehicles. The $280 million facility in South Carolina is slated to be operational in 2027 and the company expects to employ over 800 people by 2028.

The annual production capacity of the new plant will be approximately 50,000 vehicles by 2030, according to Isuzu Trucks. The Japanese company will assemble the Class 5 N-Series NRR EV truck at the new South Carolina facility, as well as the combustion-powered N-Series truck in Classes 3-5 and the F-Series Classes 5-7. The factory will be the first in the Isuzu Group to use a production line without conveyors or pits, which should help the truck maker switch easily between ICE and EV assembly.

Isuzu already has a manufacturing facility in Charlotte, Michigan. But after a record 44,000 sales in North America last year, the truck maker is looking to grow its local footprint by adding more production power.

“As our product lineup expands, whether it be electric or internal combustion, this plant will be able to meet the needs of all of those different plans,” Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of the U.S. and Canada, told Automotive News. “So it will have a high level of flexibility that we will be able to build and assemble whatever it is we need for the North American market.”

The Isuzu N-Series NRR EV (called ELF in Japan) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 19,500 pounds and can accommodate payloads between 9,882 and 12,951 lbs, depending on the powertrain configuration and body style. It’s powered by a single electric motor that sends 201 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels.

Isuzu Trucks South Carolina Manufacturing Facility (Image Courtesy of Collier’s International)

The wheelbase varies depending on the number of battery packs. The shortest version with a wheelbase of 132.5 inches has three battery packs with a total capacity of 60 kilowatt-hours. In this configuration, the truck can drive between 41 to 80 miles on a full charge. A maximum of nine battery packs can be fitted to the 176-inch wheelbase truck, with a total capacity of 180 kWh. That enables a driving range between 122 and 235 miles on a full charge. There’s also an electric power take-off (ePTO) that can provide 7 kW of continuous power to auxiliary equipment, with a peak of 26 kW.

Speaking of charging, the Isuzu N-Series NRR EV can replenish its batteries from either an AC or DC source. On a Level 2 charger, it takes between five and a half and ten hours to replenish the battery, depending on how many packs are installed. On a DC fast charger, it takes between one to two and a half hours, according to the company.

The electric truck comes with several advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as standard, including lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.