Nouxay, of the Daehan assembly factory under the Kolao Group, said they expected sales of the locally-made pickups to hit 10,000 vehicles by the end of this year.
That would represent an increase of around 20 per cent compared to last year’s 8,000 pickups sold while its share of the pickup market has continued to grow to 26 per cent in Laos.
He said the Kolao Group had now created its own brand “Daehan” which with the exception of the chassis was assembled in Laos from imported parts, after the government banned used-car imports partly over environmental issues.
Daehan has the potential to produce its full capacity of 40,000 vehicles a year by pushing exports to regional markets.
This year Daehan is targeting the assembly of 10,000 pickups, aiming to expand into markets in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Pakistan, Nouxay said.
Recently, the company sent two sample Daehan pickups to those countries to test the market and received good feedback.
If all goes as planned, Daehan will export pickups starting next year, but is unsure how many will be ordered.
Presently, the Lao pickup market is highly competitive with numerous imported brands, but Daehan believes its pickup will continue to see good sales as they have their own factory in Laos which enables customers to access after-sales services, he explained.
According to carsblog.com, 2,811 new light vehicles found buyers in Laos in January this year, with Toyota still holding the lion’s share of the market at 44 per cent, thanks to 1,236 deliveries. Local truck brand Daehan continues to progress, reaching a very impressive 26 per cent share compared to 17.6 per cent in 2015.
Dongfeng jumped to 6.9 per cent, distancing Hyundai on 2.9 per cent, with Chery at 2.3 per cent and BYD also 2.3 percent.
Chinese carmakers hold 14.2 per cent of the Lao market compared to 12.5 per cent in 2015. Model-wise, one in every three vehicles sold in Laos is a Toyota Hilux, with the Daehan D-100 on the rise with an 11.6 per cent share.