It’s a full deck for Mazda, which has announced that its vehicles will be sold in all ten ASEAN countries by 2014 – Myanmar is the last card to be opened, and joins the fold in the first half of next year. The automaker recently kick started its presence in Cambodia with the opening of its first dealership in Phnom Penh.
Located on Russian Boulevard, the outlet is operated by Mazda’s local partner, HGB Auto, which also sells Kia and Rolls-Royce in the country. Five models will make the initial model range in the country, according to reports. The CX-5 SUV, as well as the ‘new look’ CX-9 and Mazda6 sedan, will be sourced from Japan, while the Mazda3 and BT-50 pickup will come from the company’s Thai factory.
In Myanmar, pre-order bookings will begin in November at a temporary dealership in Yangon, and the first Mazda dealer will be officially opened in the first half of 2014. Myanmar will sell the same range of models as Cambodia does, with only one minor difference – the Mazda2 swaps places with the Mazda3.
The automotive scene is certainly heating up in the country – the Tata Nano made Myanmar its first ASEAN destination earlier this year, while Nissan has announced plans to enter the market in a larger way, with local production of small passenger cars and pickup trucks for domestic consumption on the cards.
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The Japanese are very, very smart.
First they came to Malaysia in the 60s and 70s. Then, we were a population of around 20 million, but nonetheless they invested in the billions here, helped set up Proton through Mitsubishi in the 80s, and then after a while, realizing that Malaysia was no longer ‘profitable’, they focused on Thailand in the 90s. They set up big plants and factories there, and within a decade or so, Thailand surpassed Malaysia as the leading ASEAN car producing nation. Now the Japanese are extending their reaches to Indonesia, because Thailand, like Malaysia before, is ‘drying up’. Already, Indonesia has exceeded the 1 million annual sales mark in 2012/13, and it is expected to grow even further, while Thailand’s car sales has stagnated.
There’s only two unmolested ASEAN markets left, Myanmar and Vietnam. Both are still poor, but possess large populations and with it, large potential. If the Japanese invest in them now, like they did with us, Thailand and Indonesia, 10 or 20 years from now, they will be able to reap the sweet seeds of their labour.
Japan, a country that at one point nearly destroyed the entire ASEAN region 70 years ago, today monopolises not only the ASEAN automobile industry, but also our electronics and various other consumer-oriented industries. In the end, we ASEAN people are still poor and broken, while the Japanese are as strong as ever.
Scary.
The same thing can be said with the Germans. They almost single-handedly taken out the top 4 Superpowers of the time, and conquered Europe with an armed force that is outnumbered by all the numbers(note the ed). Yet today they conquer Europe, economically…and maybe abit part of the world too.
True, true. Germany is Europe’s Japan for sure.
Us ‘lesser Asians/Europeans’ are too stupid to realize all this, we all bodeh the Japanese/Germans like God and fight among ourselves. In the end, while we happily bicker away, the Japanese/Germans inconspicuously drain the economic resources of our country, day by day, year by year.
Which is why we cannot be xenocentric and practice a culturally cringe. Nothing wrong with respecting others, in fact, that’s good, but it shouldn’t come to a point where we feel ‘everyone else can do it, but Malaysia cannot’. In other words, an inferiority complex.
If United States didn’t bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan might dominate the world now.
Errrm…. I prefer to remain neutral in that never ending debate.
But I understand why you and many others believe that is the case, we are all entitled to our own opinions.
To be honest, I’ve seen this all over the net that if Japan were not to be bombed, Japan might have won. Japan first mistake was that they attacked Pear Harbour, that was the reason for their lost. You awaken an industrial with all those factories that can be turned into an arms manufecturer, and have a navy and naval Airforce that outnumber roughly you 4 to 1. Japan’s chances of winning was zero. When United States did decided to bombed those two city, Japan has no navy, a laughable air force, all they have are people with a set mindset and will that are no different to most terrorist today.
This is a cruel world, you either be smart to manipulate other people, or stay foolish and being manipulated. No one feel sympathy for you. Do you feel sorry for Greece and donate to them? No!
Yep, yep, that’s the harsh reality. Knowledge is power man.
And it will start with us. I know who I’m gonna vote for come GE14. Do you ? :D P.S I’m a first time voter xD