Myanmar curbs imports of right-hand-drive used cars

Almost all of the cars on Myanmar’s road are second-hand, 90 per cent of them from Japan, even though the two nations drive on different sides of the road. Used-car imports surged after the government liberalised restrictions in 2012, the year after breaking from half a century of isolationist military rule

But until recently, Western trade sanctions blocked imports of left-hand-drive cars from Europe and the United States, forcing motorists to turn to Japanese vehicles. As a result, horn-beeping drivers routinely veer into the centre of the road to gauge whether it is safe to overtake and buses unload passengers into the middle of busy streets

Foreign automakers are now eyeing the largely untapped market of some 55 million consumers as a potential bright spot at a time of lacklustre sales in Southeast Asia.

Only seven out of 1,000 people own cars in Myanmar, compared with 200 in neighbouring Thailand, said Nissan regional senior vice president Yutaka Sanada