Tan Chong Motor Myanmar launched the first Nissan model assembled locally last week.





The Myanmar subsidiary of a Malaysian multi-national, Tan Chong Motor has the sole right to assemble and sell Nissan vehicles in Myanmar. The firm received approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission to manufacture and assemble Nissan cars back in 2013.

The first locally assembeled model, the Nissan Sunny, was launched on January 18. The fact that it is assembled locally matters for Myanmar customers, who face onerous restrictions on importing new cars from abroad. Unlike imported predecessors, the only paperwork that Nissan Sunny buyers need is a local driving licence.

“The Nissan Sunny is being assembled in our factory at Hlaing Tharyar,” said Mr Ang Bon Beng, senior regional director for Southeast Asia at Edaran Tan Chong Motor, which is in charge of retailing Nissan cars in Malaysia.

The Nissan Sunny is produced in Myanmar using a semi-knocked down system, where segments of the car are exported having already been partly put together and then the rest of the assembly is done locally.

Tan Chong Motor also has it eyes on a new factory in Bago, which is scheduled to be up and running in 2019, and will help the firm move further up the value chain to a completely-knocked down system, said Mr Ang Bon Beng.

The Bago facility will import individual car parts for full assembly in Myanmar, and the firm intends to invest around US$50 million in the plant next year, he added.