Thailand March 2020: Isuzu D-Max 3peats at #1 in market down -41.7%

The Isuzu D-Max holds a round 20% of the Thai market in March.

24/07 update: Now with Top 62 All-models.

With 1.651 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of March 31 (and 2.931 at the time of writing), Thailand seems to have been relatively spared by the pandemic, however low testing levels might not show the entire picture. A curfew was instigated on April 3. The Thai new car market was already in delicate posture before the coronavirus (-12.7% over the first two months of 2020), and March sinks further at -41.7% year-on-year to 60.105, leading to a Q1 2020 down -24.1% to 200.064.

MG breaks its all-time market share record at 3.6%.

Brand leader Toyota (-49%) is hit even harder but still easily tops the charts at 28.8% share, while Isuzu (-21.8%) resists very well at 22.7% share, hitting its highest level since January 2017 (23%) and remaining above the 20% share mark for two consecutive months for the first time since February 2016. Honda (-31.9%) also loses less ground than the market but Mitsubishi (-50.2%) and Nissan (-57.7%) both implode in the remainder of the Top 5.

The new Captiva (aka Baojun 530) keeps Chevrolet in positive in March.

MG (-9.3%) breaks its all-time share record at 3.6% while Chevrolet (+4.8%) manages the only year-on-year gain in the Top 20 alongside Lexus (+11.1%). Propelled by a new generation, the Isuzu D-Max (-19.7%) manages a third straight month atop the Thai models charts, something it hadn’t done in two years, since April 2018. The Toyota Hilux (-41.4%) almost exactly follows the market but that means it falls to 2nd place, almost 5 percentage points below the D-Max at 15.6% share vs. 20%.

Previous month: Thailand February 2020: Isuzu hits highest share in 2.5 years in freefalling market (-17.1%)

One year ago: Thailand March 2019: Toyota and Hilux reign in market up 8.5%

Full March 2020 Top 25 All-brands and Top 62 All-models below.