In our last post we covered the Chinese manufacturers at the Bangkok International Motor Show (which you can read about here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2026/04/05/2026-bangkok-international-motor-show-chinese-manufacturers/)
Whilst the Chinese have certainly made a huge mark on the Thai automotive landscape over the past couple of years, traditionally it has been Japanese manufacturers – specifically the “big three” of Toyota, Honda and Isuzu who have dominated the Thai automotive market.
In 2021 these three brands accounted for 67.6% of car sales in Thailand whereas today that figure has dropped to 60.8% due to the rise of Chinese influence.
The big three aren’t going anywhere though! All had huge stands at the Bangkok International Motor Show.
We’ll start with Isuzu. Isuzu trucks are like the Ford Transit of Thailand. There are thousands upon thousands of them being used by tradesman throughout the country and they have a reputation for being indestructible work horses.
Sine they have such a strong reputation in Thailand, Isuzu have launched the Isuzu Challenge – a one make series featuring these heavily modified D-Maxes.
They’re still diesel but it now makes 285bhp compared to the standard 163, 6 speed manual, extensive suspension and aero work (the big LMDh style vertical fin through the bed made me smile. Although the front is a bit of a slab, the roof and bed are so long that the fin probably does make a bit of a difference with yaw control.)
This is a factory package available from Isuzu for 1.4 million THB (about £32,000).
I think it’s brilliant! I’d love to see them race, especially on a tight track. I bet it’s great fun!
I also hope it has the same effect Super Touring had on us kids back in 1990s. Back then your Dad’s Mondeo would be wheel to wheel with your neighbour’s Vauxhall Cavalier around Brands Hatch. Hopefully some Thai kids will go to watch this and will be like “my Dad drops me to school in one of these!” It’ll hopefully get another generation into racing.
The MU-X is a popular SUV based on the D-Max platform.
Top Secret, the Japanese tuning company, have a second headquarters in Thailand. The guys there built one for the show.
This is the new ninth generation Toyota Hilux.
The Fortuner is a 7 seat SUV based on the same Hilux platform.
The Hilux Champ is a basic utilitarian pickup designed for farmers and business owners across South East Asia (It’s not planned to reach the U.K sadly). Although basic, I think it’s quite a good looking little truck. It has a similar retro look to the Land Cruiser (which will be coming up shortly)
This one with a refrigerated back looked really cool!
This one has had some extensive upgrades!
I’m a fan of these new retro look Land Cruisers.
The Innova Zenix, now in it’s third generation, is a crossover that surprisingly hasn’t made its’ way to Europe. Crossovers are incredibly popular here – 52% of cars sold in the U.K in 2025 were either crossovers or SUVs, so there is clearly a market for it.
The Alphard. Again, these sadly never made it to Western Europe, but if I needed a big people mover I would have one of these. I think for an MPV they are a fantastic looking thing!
The humble Corolla. 52 million Corollas have been sold worldwide since the original car’s debut in 1966. These little cars have a well deserved reputation for incredible reliability and fuel efficiency.
In the past they were always a bit boring aesthetically, but I think the latest generation cars look rather sharp!
A Yaris saloon. Sadly not available in the U.K.
Toyota’s luxury division Lexus also had a large stand.
I do love these luxury MPVs with the sliding doors that seem so popular in Asia. There are a couple of Chinese brands who are looking to bring theirs to Europe. Hopefully they sell well so the Japanese follow suit. They have so much character!
The Lexus LX500, based on the Land Cruiser. In the best possible way, if Pablo Escobar were alive today he would have one of these! It somehow manages to look both utilitarian and luxury. I’m sure being based on the Land cruiser it’s good off-road.
The NX Crossover:
Along with the bigger RX.
The electric RZ luxury crossover.
Finally we have the IS saloon.
The last of the big three is Honda. I finally got to see the new Prelude! I wasn’t convinced when I saw pictures of it online, but in person it’s actually a really, really nice car! Plus it’s hybrid, so you can have a sports car and be environmentally friendly!
The new Accord is rather smart. These are also hybrid.
The CR-V SUV.
Along with the HR-V crossover.
The Honda City. My knowledge of the City is the small boxy hatchback from the 1980s. Turns out they are still being produced for a number of markets around the world. The new ones are a small saloon car based on the same platform as the Jazz.
The Super EV Concept actually reminds me a lot of the 1980s City. Hopefully something like this reaches production.
Speaking of 1980s throwbacks – this is the Motocompacto, inspired by the fold up motorcycle the Motocompo from the 1980s. It’s a little fold up electric scooter which weighs 19.5KG and can get up to 15mph. Of course, I want one!
The e:N2 (Insight in Japan, which is a nameplate I’m more familiar with) is an electric crossover which is a joint development between Honda and the GAC group in China.
They had a huge array of bikes and scooters. Bikes are a really popular way to get about in Thailand. I’m afraid I don’t really know a lot about them so I just took pics of what I thought looked cool haha!
There were plenty of bikes at Yamaha too!
This is the Final Edition of Yamaha’s SR400 “Big Single” 399cc single cylinder motorcycle. It was in production from 1978 to 2021.
It was really interesting to see technology like hybrid drivetrains and dual clutch transmissions on bikes at this show. I don’t get the opportunity to do much with bikes, so it made a nice change.
More bikes at Suzuki:
Of their lineup of cars the e-Vitara is the only one sold in the U.K.
This is the Fronx which is a hybrid crossover sold across Asia and Australasia.
The XL7 is a big 7 seater utilitarian family wagon.
Moving onto Nissan now we have the Serena. The first generation of these was in the U.K – I believe my step-dad had one for a while. They are now on their sixth generation.
25,124 Nissan X-Trails were registered in the U.K. Less than the Qashqai and Juke (41,141 and 34,454 respectively) but still a heck of a lot!
The Kicks is available in Asia and North America, but the Juke fills it’s spot in the line up in Europe (Although the Kicks has a lot more luggage space than the Juke.)
A Navara that’s ready for adventure!
Finally from Nissan we have an Almera with a few little trick bits. The subtle skirt and livery has really brought the Almera to life!
The Mazda 6e was developed in conjunction with Changan Automobiles and shares the same platform as the Deepal L07. It will be coming to the U.K in the summer of 2026 and its a rather smart looking thing!
The Mazda 2 hatchback:
Alongside the CX-3 crossover which is based on the same platform.
Finally we have the new Mazda BT-50. This is a rebodied Isuzu D-Max which, as mentioned previously, is incredibly popular in Thailand! Interestingly though, in 2025 the D-Max sold 51,410 units in Thailand, whereas the BT-50 only sold 73 units. Mechanically the two vehicles are pretty much identical, but the Isuzu has such a good reputation there!
Mitsubishi’s Triton is the third best selling pickup in Thailand behind the famed Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux.
The Pajero Sport. Mitsubishi haven’t sold cars in the U.K since 2021 (apparently they will be returning in the summer of 2026 though!), so I’m not sure how these new Pajero’s stack up, but the earlier pre-millennial Pajeros were absolute tanks!
The Xpander is a simple 7 seat MPV/SUV designed to be mechanically simple, robust and sensibly priced. Mitsubishi are selling them in emerging markets across the globe.
This one, the Cross, has a raised ground clearance, chunkier wheels, and different lights for moving the family around on unpaved roads.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little look around the Japanese cars presented at the Bangkok International Motor Show.
There are another couple of articles to come from this show, so if you would like to see more please subscribe to the blog via email (from the box at the bottom of the page).
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By Richard Francis.
