Vietnamese cars officially begin exporting to Laos.

The first batch of vehicles will be exported to Laos from the Vina Mazda factory (a member of THACO), paving the way for a plan to export approximately 15,000 "made in Vietnam" cars to Southeast Asian markets between now and 2020.

Vina Mazda (a member of THACO) is the exclusive distributor and assembler of Mazda passenger cars in the Vietnamese market. Its Vina Mazda automobile manufacturing and assembly plant is located in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam province. With a total investment of over 20 million USD and a maximum capacity of 10,000 vehicles per year, the Vina Mazda plant currently produces and assembles three models: Mazda 2, Mazda 3, and Mazda CX-5.

The cars recently exported to Laos include the Mazda 2, Mazda 3, and CX-5 models. This marks the beginning of a plan to export Mazda vehicles from Vietnam to left-hand drive markets in Southeast Asia, such as Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Vina Mazda expects to export 300 vehicles in 2013, and up to 3,000 in 2014. By 2020, the projected export volume is 15,000 vehicles.

According to the plan for 2013, 65 Mazda vehicles will be exported to the Lao market. Specifically, in July 2013, Vina Mazda Company will export all three Mazda models: Mazda 2, Mazda 3, and Mazda CX5, in both manual and automatic transmission versions, and CX5 in both 2WD and 4WD versions. In this first delivery, the two sides will receive 25 vehicles in five colors: silver, white, black, gray, and red.

Mr. Pham Van Tai, General Director of Vina Mazda Company, stated: "Vina Mazda is committed to ensuring that Mazda products exported to Laos are delivered on time, in the correct quantity, and meet the global quality standards of Mazda Motor."

Reportedly, in the first six months of 2013, Vina Mazda sold 1,257 vehicles, a 560% increase compared to the same period in 2012. Currently, the best-selling Mazda models are: Mazda 2, Mazda 3, Mazda CX5, Mazda 6, Mazda BT50… Vina Mazda's sales in 2013 are estimated to reach over 3,500 vehicles, accounting for approximately 5.4% of the market share, ranking 5th in the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.

According to (baocongthuong) -PH