During a recent visit to Laos by Thai media, Somkiat Phothiratana, manager of the UD Trucks dealership in Nong Khai, said Volvo Group (Thailand) Co, the distributor of Volvo and UD trucks in Thailand via 15 branches nationwide, had also established branches in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. Volvo Group also manufactures heavy-duty trucks in Thailand, some for export.

Last year, Thai branches boasted the highest sale volumes in Southeast Asia, followed by those in the Philippines, he said.

“Since the AEC came into effect, |border trade has been buzzing, with goods-transport trucks from neighbouring countries crossing into Thailand and vice versa. This has led to the expansion of the logistics sector and high demand among business operators for transport trucks, and we are in a good position to cater to that,” he said.

Chalongchai Chayutrapong, director and chief executive of UMG Lao Relentless Pursuit of Excellence, which is the Volvo and UD truck dealer in Laos, said UMG had a head office in Myanmar and expanded in 1998 to Laos. It had foreseen Laos’ economic-growth potential, especially for transport business, because it borders three countries – Thailand, China and Vietnam. In Laos, the company’s goal is more than 100 truck sales this year, up from 40 in 2015.

“As China has the world’s largest manufacturing base, Laos’ location next to it enabled goods transport by trans-border trucks to be easier. Bringing goods from China through Laos to Thailand also meant that the goods could also continue the journey to Malaysia and Singapore, so the transport business grew faster than other businesses,” he said.

Chalongchai said Laos’ truck market used to be dominated by second-hand products before the market for new trucks grew |during the past two years. European trucks were in high demand there, hence the increased sale volumes for Volvo and UD trucks.

He said the company had more than a 70-per-cent share of Laos’ truck market and more than 40 trucks were sold last year. The company aims to sell more than 100 Volvo and UD trucks this year, he added. UMG will highlight after-sale service, as roads in Laos are still not good and vehicle maintenance is required more frequently than in Thailand, he said. UMG has eight mobile service teams to stand by around the clock to provide service to customers all over Laos.