The company merged with DAT Automobile Manufacturing Inc. Ishikawa soon found other partners to continue developing its technologies. The Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Company then decided to form its automotive division into an independent company in 1929, known as Ishikawa Auto Works. The company went on to convert the Woselely CP into a few different styles, such as an armored and a six-wheeled version.

A year later, the 'Woselely' moniker was replaced with 'Sumida'-taken from the nearby Sumidagawa River-along with two engines-a four-cylinder, the A4 and a six-cylinder, the A6. The companies' agreement with Wolseley ended in 1927, but at that point they had accrued the experience and resources needed to operate independently. The venture resulted in the 5-ton Wolseley CP Truck, which helped further establish a strong domestic automobile industry in Japan. The company saved itself thanks to subsidies offered by the Japanese government to companies that could meet their vehicle specifications. The A-9 was a success, but production quickly halted following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which, along with a fire on the same day, damaged the assembly plant at Fukagawa. The A-9 went on to be the first passenger car manufactured in Japan, and the CP Japan's first truck. Tokyo Gas and Electric was able to develop and manufacture the TGE A-Type truck, using motors built by Ishikawajima, but management thought it would be best to team up with British manufacturer Wolseley Motors to give the companies rights to a few of Wolseley's models, including the CP truck and the A-9. Together they could research and develop their own vehicle, and with a plan in mind they set their sights on developing a commercial truck.īuilding an automobile is no simple task, and both companies' engineers soon discovered this after studying the assembly of a few models.

Both companies had reached a point of success and growth that created an opportunity for expansion.

partnered with the Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Company with plans to build commercial trucks. Its history stretches back to 1916 when the Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd. Isuzu might specialize in building diesel engines and commercial vehicles, but at one point it was a fairly successful manufacturer of passenger cars in the US.

Isuzu parts manual