Chinese automakers move into Myanmar to battle Japanese rivals

Soueast Motor and GAC take advantage of rules favoring locally made vehicles

Chinese automakers want a larger slice of Myanmar's booming vehicle market, which is now dominated by Japanese companies. © Reuters

YUICHI NITTA, Nikkei staff writer

April 12, 2020 11:00 JST

YANGON -- Chinese automakers are ramping up local production in Myanmar as they go head to head with dominant and entrenched Japanese rivals in the fast-growing market.

There was a fivefold increase in the number of new cars sold in Myanmar in the three years to 2019, when sales hit 21,916, according to data from the Automotive Association of Myanmar.