Isuzu has announced that it will be leaving the light-vehicle market in the United States. In a recent conference call with the board of the U.S. Isuzu Dealer Advisory Council, Isuzu said it will stop selling new vehicles here on Jan. 31, 2009.

Isuzu Motors America said in a press release that it is leaving because General Motors may discontinue the Ascender SUV and its small-pickup platform. Isuzu has 201 dealers and sells only two models -- the five-seat Ascender, based on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer; and the i-series pickup, derived from GM's small-pickup platform.

Isuzu sales have slid from 103,937 in 1999 to 7,098 in 2007. Isuzu signed 13 new dealers in the past year. Those dealers mainly were in the used-car business or had franchises that did not have trucks.