Toyota leads pickup sales in year to April

The long-time pickup-truck market leader Isuzu has been unable to make a comeback, and Toyota has retained its lead in local pickup sales.

Toyota said its sales including passenger pickup vehicles (PPV) totalled 51,524 units compared to Isuzu's 45,940 during the first four months of the year.

Isuzu lost its market lead to Toyota for the first time in 2005 after dominating the light truck market for more than 20 years.

A spokesman for Toyota Motor Thailand Co said Toyota's continued success was driven by aggressive marketing activities, which reached customers directly and aimed to speed up their buying decisions. The strong dealer network also helped boost sales.

Runaway fuel prices have not stopped vehicle purchases since pickup trucks remain an essential tool in doing businesses, said the spokesman.

In the unofficial automotive figures compiled by Toyota, the top automaker's pickup truck sales in the four months to April rose 10.6% while those of Isuzu rose 8.05%.

Despite a facelift and several updates to its D-Max model, Isuzu still could not overtake Toyota's Hilux Vigo, which is approaching the end of its life cycle. The Hilux Vigo, launched four years ago, has not been revised significantly. The only change was the introduction of the Prerunner high-body model.

In the pure pickup truck market, which excludes PPVs, Toyota outdid Isuzu by 3,479 units, having sold 46,547 Hilux Vigos in the first four months against Isuzu's 43,068 units. In the PPV market, Toyota sold 4,977 units of the Fortuner while Isuzu sold 2,872 units of its Mu-7 during the period.

Other players in the pickup market include Nissan, having sold 10,708 units from January to April, Mitsubishi (9,010), Chevrolet (4,206), Mazda (3,087) and Ford (3,026).

Both Toyota and Isuzu have fought a fierce battle for control of the light truck market for more than two decades, with Isuzu dominating most of the time.

But Toyota staged a major challenge with the launch of light trucks built under the 30-billion-baht innovative international multi-purpose vehicle (IMV) programme in 2004, the first time Toyota had made vehicles outside Japan. The IMV flagships include the Hilux Vigo pickup trucks and Fortuner PPVs.

Bangkok Post, 13.05.2008

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