Overview of Laos’ Automobile Market in 2022

In 2022, automobile sales in Laos (based on imported licenses for CBUs or KD kits) increased by 29.8% from the previous year to 21,887 units, recovering for the second consecutive year and exceeding 20,000 units for the first time in three years. The real GDP growth rate in 2022 was 2.3%, an increase of 0.2 points from the previous year, which is lower than before the coronavirus, when it was hovering at a level of over 4.0%, but demand for automobiles was steady.

Looking at sales by vehicle type, both passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles increased, but the growth rate for passenger vehicles was only at 1.1% due to a decline in sales of the sedan/hatchback/etc. category, going down 11.7% from the previous year. Sales of commercial vehicles increased by 43.8% year-on-year, driven by a significant rise in sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks, up 63.4% year-on-year, due to increased demand for transportation.