Cambodia Full Year 2015: Ford Ranger leads, outsells Toyota Hilux

Ford Ranger in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – January 2016.

For the first time in five years we are able to report in detail on the Cambodian car market, still dominated by used imports. According to the Cambodia Automotive Industry Federation (CAIF), a total of 55.000 imports entered Cambodia in 2015, a 10% increase over the previous year. Of these, only about 4.000 units are new cars, up 7% year-on-year. Surprisingly, the tax environment is extremely unfavourable to new car imports and favouring used ones instead, making Cambodia the only ASEAN country with Myanmar to continue allowing imports of secondhand cars just as Vietnam and Laos are banning them.

Toyota Hilux in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – January 2016

Even more surprisingly, the market distortion is getting more intense in 2016, with taxes on car imports being further increased on April 1. They can now reach up to in excess of 136% on imported new luxury vehicles. Pily Wong, CEO of Hung Hiep, Volkswagen’s distributor in Cambodia, comments to the Phnom Penh Post: “I actually don’t know why the government has taken this measure to make the tax even more favourable to used cars, as if we don’t have enough used cars in the market. Taxes are highest on newer vehicles with higher engine capacities”. Taxes on car imports account for a third of the government’s total tax revenue in 2015, and although the revised specific tax is imposed on both new and used vehicles, the tax increase has a greater impact on licensed dealers of new cars and advantages grey-market used-car dealers.

Mazda BT-50 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – January 2016

Ford reports the made-in-Thailand Ranger is the best-selling pickup truck in Cambodia (as well as Vietnam and Myanmar), playing a role in lifting the nameplate’s sales across the ASEAN region to an all-time record 54,114 units, an 8% increase on 2014. Given the implacable domination of pickup trucks in the new car market, this means the Ford Ranger is the best-selling new vehicle in Cambodia in 2015. Ford’s local distributor RMA Cambodia reported a 30% new sales increase in 2015 and expects a similar surge in 2016.

500 Riel bill featuring a Nissan Juke 

Observation in the streets of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Photo Reports to follow shortly) place the Ford Ranger in the lead of the new car sales charts, followed by the Toyota Hilux, Mazda BT-50, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton, making the podium 100% pickup trucks. New passenger cars are a lot rarer, with the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Kia Carnival the most successful.