Laos vehicles sales in the 2019 the market is finally moderately recovering with sales at 21.078 units, up 7.7%. The car passenger segment, which count 31% of the total light vehicles market, declined 7.2%, but this lost was more than balanced by the pickups growth.
Economic Environment
Laos economy growth likely remains robust, buttressed by the ongoing construction of the flagship Laos-China railway. Moreover, the recent start of operations at the 1285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam should be supporting the external sector, while merchandise exports were up over 9% in H1, which, coupled with modest import growth, caused the trade deficit to fall year-on-year. Less positively, however, the expansion in credit slowed considerably in Q1–Q3 compared to the 2018 average.
Economic growth should be broadly stable next year, supported by infrastructure investment and stronger electricity exports thanks to new hydropower projects. However, fiscal austerity could hold back activity somewhat. A shaky external position, fairly high public debt and significant exposure to China pose downside risks to the outlook.
Market Trend
Following the rapid development of the market in the years immediately after the end of dictatorship, in the last three years the Laos vehicles market suffered with declining sales, despite the still fast growing economy.
In the 2018 the total light vehicles sales were 19.560, down 7.9% from the previous year. The market lost steam despite in the previous three years several new brands landed in the market and actually all the top brands are on sales, while not all successfully.
In the 2019 the market finally moderately recovered with final sales at 21.078 units, up 7.7%. The car passenger segment, which count 31% of the total light vehicles market, declined 7.2%, but this lost was more than balanced by the growth of the LCVs (mainly pickups) up a robust 16.4%.
The market was dominated by Hyundai until the 2015. But when the doors have been fully opened to competitions Toyota has taken the leadership improving the market share year after year, up to a record of 37.9% in the 2018, losing over 1 point of share in the 2019.
Hyundai declined and actually is third, behind the local brand Daehan, specialized in light trucks and pickups, which in the 2019 recovered 6 points of share.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for top Brands
