The South African-designed and -manufactured bakkie tailgate damper EZDown is becoming increasingly popular and sought- after in the Australian utility-vehicle market.

The EZDown is manufactured and distributed by Kyalami-based engineering solutions company Industrial Specialised Applications (ISA).

In line with increased interest in the EZDown in the Australian market, the company’s Australia-based subsidiary, EZDown Australia, has expanded from being purely an online-based company to currently having vehicle manufacturers requesting the EZDown to be fitted onto vehicles on the production line, thereby being available to vehicle buyers before delivery.

EZDown Australia MD Tristan Gibbons notes that German vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) is currently one of the major vehicle brands in Australia offering the EZDown as an accessory to its vehicles. EZDown Australia is also concluding agreements with three other (as yet unnamed) vehicle manufacturers.

Gibbons says the company expects its product will soon be offered across “most major vehicle brands” by 2020 as a genuine original-equipment-level product. “The exponential growth has a lot to do with people and companies realising the benefits that our product offers in terms of safety and convenience.”

Further, the company has also fitted the EZDown to vehicles in the Australian government’s fleet, which the Australian government regards as a “proactive initiative” in improving health and safety for government fleet vehicle drivers, Gibbons says.

The EZDown tailgate kit absorbs the speed of a tailgate descent and prevents it from crashing down. The kit comes standard with the required hardware and is made specifically for the brand and model onto which it is intended to be installed.

According to Gibbons, EZDown Australia is growing its large dealer network and expanding further into the country, while aiming to become embedded in the 4 × 4 accessories market as a “must-have brand” within the next two years.

On a global scale, EZDown has expanded into Chile, South America, the UK, New Zealand and Europe while offering the product to VW, Ford, Mazda and Toyota.