Thailand Full Year 2020: New Isuzu D-Max topples Toyota Hilux for third win in 16 years, market down -21.4%

The Isuzu D-Max reclaims the lead of the Thai new car market in 2020.

Discover 30 years of Thailand Historical Data here.

26/02 update: now with Top 15 models.

New vehicle sales in Thailand are down -21.4% year-on-year in 2020 to 792.146 units vs. 1.007.552 in 2019, this is the lowest tally since the 768.788 units of 2016. 2021 prospects are rather good however, with December sales up 13.1% year-on-year at 95.665. Brand leader Toyota (-26.6%) falls faster than the market, resulting in a weakened share at 30.8% vs. 32.9% last year. In complete contrast, Isuzu actually gains 7.7% to spectacularly expand its footprint from 16.7% in 2019 to 22.9% share this year. This has everything to do with the success of the new generation D-Max as we’ll see further down.

The next five carmakers all lose share year-on-year, with Ford (-40.2%), Mitsubishi (-34.9%), Mazda (-32.5%) and Nissan (-30.8%) hit the hardest and Honda (-26.1%) doing slightly better in third position overall. There are two additional gainers in the Top 10: Chinese MG (+6.8%) remains at #8 but hit a record 4.9% share in December and Suzuki (+6.8%) also immobile ranking-wise at #9. BMW (-1.1%) rounds out the Top 10 in solid fashion with a minimal year-on-year decrease. Further down, Peugeot (+265.5%) posts a spectacular gain but only holds 0.1% share, with JAC (+50%), Foton (+11%), and Lexus (+10.2%) the only other gainers and Ssangyong (-10.1%), Volvo (-13.1%) and Hino (-16.6%) resisting ok.

Thailand is the world factory for mid-size pickups, and these are extremely popular “at home”, accounting for a whopping 46.1% share of the total market with 364.887 sales. In the models ranking, the big story of the year is the indisputable domination of the new generation Isuzu D-Max (+11.6%) over its archenemy the Toyota Hilux (-21.5%) despite the latter benefiting from a facelift halfway through the year. The D-Max reclaims the annual crown for the first time since 2017 and only the third time in 16 years (add 2005). The D-Max won 11 of the 12 months of the year (all bar April which went to the Hilux), more than doubling the Hilux volume in June when the Isuzu brand outsold Toyota for the first time. The Honda City (+5.2%) leaps up four spots to #3, overtaking the Toyota Yaris (-29.4%), Mitsubishi Triton (-28.2%), Ford Ranger (-43.6%) and Mazda2 (-47.2%).

Previous month: Thailand November 2020: MG, Suzuki, Isuzu shine in stabilised market (-0.1%)

Previous year: Thailand 2019: Dismal last 2 months tilt market into negative (-3.3%) to just above 1 million

Two years ago: Thailand 2018: Toyota Hilux reclaims top spot in market up 19.5%

Full Year 2020 Top 28 All-brands, Top 10 models and a selection of 40 models vs. Full Year 2019 figures below.

Full December 2020 Top 25 All-brands ranking, Top 15 models and a selection of 35 models below.