It was developed to meet local conditions in terms of climate, roads and family structure as a durable vehicle.

The first generation Panther was introduced in 1991 in Indonesia as a pickup truck and a coachbuilder-made station wagon in short and long body with the 2.3 L C223 diesel engine.

The second generation Panther was introduced on September 6, 2000, at the tenth Gaikindo Auto Expo with the completely rounded, aerodynamic shape of the 21st century.

It is only available in station wagon version with the same 2.5 L Direct Injection 4JA1 diesel engine as the first generation, and featured the crystal multi-reflector headlights for the first time.

For the first time, the automatic transmission variant is also offered for the LS Hi Grade trim with the 4JA1-L turbocharged diesel engine.

In 2001, the top-of-the-line Touring variant was introduced as a sport utility vehicle variant of the second generation Panther with the same turbocharged diesel engine as the automatic transmission variant of the LS Hi Grade trim, two-tone exterior color with silver colored body kit and front bumper guard, higher ground clearance, spare tire attached on rear door and four-spoke steering wheel from the third generation Isuzu Gemini (later also used on the LS trim in 2003).

The redesigned tail lights with crystal multi-reflector were introduced with the Touring variant and later also used on the LV and LS Hi Grade trims.

In 2003, the second generation Panther has no longer used rubber seals and used compound sealant instead on both rear side and rear window, and also introduced the top-of-the-line Grand Touring variant which has a single exterior color instead of two-tone and without front bumper guard, and is positioned just above the Touring variant.

Then it got facelifted again in 2010 featuring a halogen projector type headlamp, redesigned front grille with chrome ornament for the higher variants, amber side mirror led indicators, redesigned spare wheel cover (XUV and Sportivo), and an integrated rear bumper diffuser for the XUV and Sportivo variants.

It was discontinued in 2017 after it sold off its final units due to the Philippines' enforcement of rules for Euro IV emission standards by 2017.

[9][10] Its main competition includes the Toyota Innova, Mahindra Bolero, Tata Sumo, and similar vehicles.

[15] The Sonalika engine option was discontinued in 2015 with the Tavera being withdrawn temporarily from sale in Bharat Stage 4 cities until the outgoing 2.5L turbo diesel was revised to meet BS4 emissions standard with a reduced compression ratio and common rail fuel injection in 2016 and was sold until 2017 when General Motors halted sales in domestic Indian market.

In July 2013, General Motors recalled 114,000 Chevrolet Taveras in India, as the vehicle failed to meet local emission standards.

[16] Svenska Dagbladet reported that employees of General Motors had misled Indian authorities about the exhaust emission and fuel consumption by equipping vehicles to be tested with smaller and specially prepared engines to pass regulations.

[17][citation needed] In Indonesia, Tavera served as a petrol version of Isuzu Panther, while the latter is only offered with diesel engine.