Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., predecessor of Isuzu, began research on automobile production and making prototypes in 1916.

TAfter a technology partnership agreement was concluded with Wolseley Motors, U.K. in 1918, six engineers were sent to Wolseley for eight months to learn the automobile technology. After they came back to Japan, the production of Model A9 began in the newly built Fukagawa Plant.

Although they even had to start with material research by building a chemical analysis laboratory in the plant, many problems were overcome and the first Wolseley Model A9 passenger vehicle was successfully completed.