This marked an important milestone in the electric pickup truck manufacturer’s global expansion, with the Thai subsidiary to serve as a hub for the company’s expansion into other markets in South-east Asia. Radar also launched its Riddara brand in Thailand.

Shyft says the acquisition will allow it to enter new markets and “capture a greater share of higher class-sized products”, particularly larger vehicles and complex service body upfitting.

TMC stated it had completed construction of the US$37m assembly line earlier this year in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone in the country’s capital city.

The plan is to start mass production of a battery-powered version of the Hilux pickup truck for Thailand and for export.

Kia said the new “Tasman” will be a multi-purpose model aimed at the “working” and “life-style” sub-segments of the global pickup truck market.

Fuso, Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Corporation to operate an online platform JV providing information and one-stop services relating to electric vehicles (EV). 

The “Isuzu Transformation IX – Growth to 2030” mid-term business plan released in April is designed to transform the truck-maker into a commercial mobility solutions company by 2030 “to address challenges faced by customers and society through transport”.

Isuzu Motors Ltd, headquartered in Yokohama in Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, unveiled its first battery-powered D-Max one-ton pickup truck at the Bangkok International Motor Show in April

Vietnam’s commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2023, by over 16% to 14,877 units from already weak year-earlier sales of 17,766 units.

The Thai commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw plunged by 37% to 68,295 units in the fourth-quarter of 2023 from 108,498 units a year earlier.

The South Korean market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw declined by more than 5% to 59,190 units in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 62,497 units a year earlier.

The Malaysian commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw expanded by more than 5% to 22,217 units in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 21,050 in the same period of the previous year