According to CEO of Isuzu Malaysia Kyoya Kondo, the D-Max has been gaining in popularity because it has lived up to its reputation for being a very versatile, efficient and surprisingly-refined vehicle. In fact, despite the weak market conditions in 2006 and 2007, Isuzu sales continued to climb.

"Our sales trend has been showing a healthy rise since we introduced the first D-Max in late 2005 as customers began discovering how efficient and durable the D-Max really is. This steady demand for the vehicle gained further momentum in July last year when we introduced the 2007 version that included the 3-litre Super Commonrail model. The challenge was in keeping up with the strong demand for the vehicles and although we ramped up production in the plant, we were still dependent on the supply of components from our vendors as well," said Mr. Kondo.

"Our production output has currently stabilized and we should be able to bring the waiting period down to within a month by April this year. Once our delivery schedules have been met, we should strengthen our market position for 2008," he added.

"We anticipate continued strong demand for Isuzu vehicles in 2008 as fuel and commodity prices are expected to rise. We expect a further 40% growth in our sales as more customers discover that the Isuzu D-Max is very gentle on the pocket," said Kondo, revealing that Isuzu Malaysia aims to sell 4,000 units of the D-Max in 2008. This is to be achieved through a stronger initiative to reach out to corporate and fleet purchasers, a segment that has remained vastly untapped by the company as it has focused primarily on dealer development thus far.

For the first month of 2008, D-Max sales totalled 350 units, keeping it in second position in the pick-up truck segment. The figure was 36% better than December's and 46% higher than the average monthly sales in 2007.

• The 2007 Isuzu D-MAX