Tri Petch Isuzu Sales, the local distributor for the Japanese truck maker, is confident of achieving its 2019 sales target of 178,000 units amid many economic difficulties in Thailand's car market.
President Toshiaki Maekawa said market sentiment is suffering from the US-China trade war and the strengthening baht, harming all economic engines.
"Myriad negative risks are pressuring the country's car exports and sales," Mr Maekawa said. "The baht's strength is lowering value in terms of exports."
Isuzu has yet to cut its sales target for 2019, keeping its forecast in line with that of the local market, which is projected to stay unchanged from 2018 at 1.04 million cars.
Isuzu has also witnessed monthly car sales declining for four months in a row, Mr Maekawa said.
Vice-president Takeshi Kazahara said the car market from January to September stood at 761,610 cars sold, a 2% rise from the same period last year.
Isuzu, the second-largest car brand, posted 125,959 units sold for the period, a slight increase of 0.2%. The brand captured a 17% market share, trailing Toyota.
Pickups remained Isuzu's biggest sellers at 107,073 units sold in the first nine months, up 1.7%. Isuzu had a 33.2% market share in the segment, good for No.2 after Toyota.
Mr Kazahara said the fourth quarter of 2019 is the high season for the car market.
"Many car distributors plan to introduce new and refreshed models and offer attractive sales campaigns, so the 1.04-million-car projection for 2019 remains possible," he said.
For exports, Isuzu aims to ship 170,000 units this year, a 6.3% rise from 2018.
In related news, Isuzu made the world debut of its Thai-made pickup, the all-new D-Max, last Friday.
The truck's variants come with two diesel engine sizes, 1.9 and 3.0 litres, with prices ranging from 510,000 to 1,157,000 baht, compared with the old range of 518,000 to 1,020,000 baht.
Mr Maekawa said Isuzu pickups accumulated 4 million units sold from 1958 to last month.
"The new pickup is also expected to stimulate the country's local market in the fourth quarter," he said. "For overseas shipments, they will start from early 2020 after two local plants adjust their production lines."
The subsidiary Isuzu Motors Co Thailand runs two plants in Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao, with an annual production capacity of 366,000 units.
The new D-Max is expected to share the pickup platform with the next Mazda BT-50 in line with a basic agreement signed by Isuzu and Mazda in July 2016.
The agreement allows Isuzu to enhance its product competitiveness and Mazda to strengthen its product line-up and maintain its own-brand market coverage.
Mazda said in 2016 that the agreement would mean relocating Mazda's pickup truck production in Thailand to Isuzu's facility for Mazda's next-generation model.
Mr Maekawa declined to give a further update on the pickup agreement.