For yet another year, Isuzu D-Max has outpaced its arch-rival Toyota Hilux to be crowned as the bestselling pickup truck in Thailand.
Related: Isuzu Celebrates 6 Million Units Production Milestone
The 3rd gen D-Max which received a facelift last year, sold 115,499 units in the Thai market between January and December 2023 which is 8.3% higher than 106,601 units of Toyota Hilux.
The competition between D-Max and Hilux in Thailand is such fierce that only these two surpassed the 100,000 units mark in full-year sales, whereas the 3rd-place holder Ford Ranger has just 24,424 units under its belt. Mitsubishi Triton was in 4th place with 12,973 units followed by Nissan Navara in 5th place with 3,470 units sold in calendar year 2023.
Related: Isuzu- Too Good in Southeast Asia, But Struggling in South Asia
MG Extender and Mazda BT-51 with 930, and 834 units respectively, secured the last two spots in the chart, with both unable to cross the 1,000 units mark through the year. In total, the pickup truck segment in Thailand saw 264,731 units sold in the calendar year 2023 which is nearly 2.5 times the sales of all the cars by every assembler belonging to every segment sold in Pakistan.
But while the D-Max does exceptionally well in the Southeast Asian markets, in Pakistan where the previous generation model is still being sold, it sits at the bottom of the domestic sales charts ever since it was introduced here in November 2018. So far, halfway through the fiscal year 2023-24, only 76 units of 2nd-gen Isuzu D-Max have been sold rendering a dismal monthly sales average of around 12 units. Just for the sake of comparison, the sales average of 3rd-gen D-Max in Thailand is 9,625 units a month.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com