Isuzu Motors will begin sales in Thailand in 2015 of pickup trucks powered by smaller engines, a move aimed at keeping prices down while improving fuel economy.
The automaker will add a 1.9-litre diesel engine to the 2.5- and 3-litre engines now available in its D-Max pickups, the Nikkei reported. It aims to obtain the same output and performance as the 2.5-litre engine.
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Isuzu sold around 410,000 pickups worldwide in the fiscal year to 31 March with 65% bought in Southeast Asia. By introducing vehicles with smaller engines, it hopes to boost worldwide pickup truck sales by more than 20% to 500,000 units in the year to 31 March 2016.
Thailand and other developing economies have less stringent environmental regulations than industrialised countries. But air pollution is becoming a problem amid rapid motorisation, especially in big cities.
Isuzu’s smaller engine is designed to accommodate the tougher environmental regulations that will be put in place in the future, the Nikkei noted.
