Tri Petch Isuzu is expected to increase its market share in Cambodia and Laos by 10 percent in two years, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.
Toshiaki Maekawa, president of Tri Petch Isuzu, told the Bangkok Post on Wednesday that the company expects to increase its market share in the two countries from the current two percent to 10 percent by 2018. By 2020, the company’s projections indicate that it will have a 30 percent market share in Cambodia and Laos, Annual sales of pickup trucks in Laos and Cambodia are estimated at 10,000 and 2,500 units, respectively, the report said.
Two Thai-made models, the D-Max pickup and the MU-X passenger pickup vehicle, were introduced to the two markets on June 17 through one retail outlet in Phnom Penh and four outlets in Vientiane and Pakse.
The company is still maintaining its own sales target of between 127,800 to 129,600 units this year in the country, down about 11 percent from a year earlier.
“The vehicle market in Laos is very promising now because customers prefer to buy new cars,” said Mr. Maekawa. However, the newspaper report stated that, “In Cambodia, 90 percent of the car market consists of imported used vehicles.”
The grey or informal market in Cambodia is dominated by used vehicles of unknown origin and dubious mileage. Last year, according to the Cambodia Automotive Industry Federation (CAIF), 45,000 vehicles were imported into the Kingdom, and only 4,000 of them were new models. Peter Brongers, president of CAIF, said the federation is prepared to advise the government about relevant measures to ban new cars imported through regional distributors who do not have rights to sell vehicles in the country. Buyers of such vehicles often pay a 150 percent import tax on the black market, he said.