Used Car Export Country Guide (2023) Asia Chapter - Laos
创建于2024.09.04
Used Car Export Country Guide (2023) Asia Chapter - Laos
(1) Basic situation
The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos for short) is located in Southeast Asia. It is the only landlocked country in the northern part of the Indochina Peninsula. It borders China to the north, Cambodia to the south, Vietnam to the east, Myanmar to the northwest, and Thailand to the southwest. The land area is 237,000 square kilometers. As of January 2023, the population of Laos is about 7.58 million. According to statistics from the International Monetary Fund (IMIF), in 2022, Laos' GDP was US$15.72 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 16.5%, and its per capita GDP was US$2,103. China is Laos' second largest trading partner and largest exporter. According to statistics from China Customs, in 2023, China's import and export trade with Laos was US$7.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%, and bilateral trade reached a record high. Among them, China's exports to Laos were US$3.35 billion, a year-on-year increase of 48.4%; China's imports from Laos were US$3.75 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.9%. The trade deficit with Laos was US$400 million, which was significantly narrowed from the deficit of US$1.0 billion in the same period last year.
Laos has mineral resources such as tin, lead, potassium salt, copper, iron, gold, gypsum, coal, and rare earth. So far, gold, copper, coal, potassium salt, coal, etc. have been mined; water resources are rich; in 2019, the forest area was about 19.4 million hectares, and the national forest coverage rate was about 70%, producing precious woods such as teak and rosewood.
2. Automobile Market Situation
Laos is a left-hand drive country with about 20 cars per thousand people. Since 2021, the new car market in Laos has gradually recovered from the downturn. In 2022, new car sales were 21,981, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. In 2023, new car sales were 22,320, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. The depreciation of the Lao currency and the increase in inflation are the main reasons for the slowdown in the sales growth of the new car market.
In terms of automobile imports, according to statistics from the Lao Automobile Industry Association, Laos imported a total of 80,708 motor vehicles in 2022, including 21,887 traditional fuel vehicles, 1,408 pure electric vehicles and 58,893 motorcycles. From January to April 2023, Laos imported a total of 6,884 traditional fuel vehicles and 17,796 new energy vehicles. The Lao used car market is dominated by Japanese brands, including Honda, Mitsubishi, and Mazda; Chinese brands such as Dongfeng Motor, Wuling, Shaanxi Automobile, Foton, Lifan, Geely, JAC, Chery, and BYD have entered the Lao market, but their market share is not high.
In terms of new energy vehicles, the Lao government has been determined to transform its energy structure and develop new energy vehicles since 2021, which has increased the confidence of Chinese automakers in exporting electric vehicles to Laos. BYD has sold more than thousands of vehicles to Laos through dealers in the past three years, driving the development of Laos' new energy vehicle market. In terms of policy, Laos will promote the use of electric vehicles as one of the strategic plans for the future development of Laos' energy industry. After the government announced the strategy of providing clean energy to the transportation sector, relevant departments have accelerated the revision of legal instruments and measures to implement measures to promote the use of electric vehicles, mainly including tariffs, taxes, and the issuance of electric vehicle licenses. Resolution No. 8, issued on October 4, 2021, formulated a promotion policy for electric vehicle importers and dealers of 0% import tariff, 3% consumption tax and 10% value-added tax. At the same time, Laos will implement an electric vehicle import quota plan, stipulating that the annual import quota for fuel vehicles will be 70% from 2022 to 2025, and the remaining 30% quota will be for imported electric vehicles. From 2026 to 2030, the annual import quota for fuel vehicles will be 50%, and the remaining 50% quota will be for imported electric vehicles. After 2031, the proportion of imported electric vehicles will exceed 50%, and the number of fuel vehicles will gradually decrease.
(III) Policies and regulations on the import of used cars
1. Import policy
Laos adopts an automatic licensing system for vehicle imports. Importers and exporters can obtain licenses from the Department of Imports and Exports (DIMEX). Automatic licensing is mainly used to collect statistical information.
Passenger used car import policy:
(1) There is no age limit for imported used passenger cars.
(2) Only left-hand drive vehicles are allowed to be imported, and emissions must meet Euro I standards.
(3) Two-wheeled motorcycles with a displacement not exceeding 250ml and three-wheeled vehicles with a displacement not exceeding 650ml are allowed to be imported.
Commercial Used Vehicle Import Policy:
(1) According to Lao Regulation No. 4312/MCTPC, second-hand commercial vehicles imported into Laos shall not be more than 4 years old from the year of production.
(2) The vehicle must meet the following conditions and technical standards: be technically complete and usable, have a straight chassis, no indentations on the vehicle body, no distortion in the vehicle body manufacturing, have safety protection devices, brakes, front and rear lights, complete signal lights, rearview mirrors, and good appearance.
(3) The service life of second-hand heavy machinery imported into Laos shall not exceed 8 years or the usage time shall not exceed 20,000 hours.
2. Tax policy
The import taxes on used cars in Laos include tariffs, value-added tax and consumption tax. Among them, passenger cars are subject to 10-40% tariffs, 10% value-added tax and 25-80% consumption tax depending on their displacement.
Special tax regulations:
(1) Foreign diplomats may import a vehicle into Laos duty-free. This requires a letter from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the identity of the importer and a permit allowing duty-free vehicle import.
(2) Used vehicles imported for official development assistance projects and loan projects can apply for tax exemption (a separate development assistance project vehicle import license or loan project import license must be applied for).
3. Documents required for import
(1) Apply for a vehicle import license
• Application
• Import license application
• Copy of the company registration certificate (the original is required for first-time importers)
• Copy of annual tax payment certificate (original required for first time import)
• bill
• Packing list
• Technology license (for importing used cars and heavy machinery) (2) Apply for vehicle import license for official development assistance projects
• Request Letter
• Import license application
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Lao Government and the aid project
• Power of attorney
• bill
•Packing list
• Technical approval (for importing used vehicles and heavy machinery)
(3) Apply for a vehicle import license for a loan project
• Request Letter
• Import license application
•Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Construction contracts
•Power of Attorney
• Business registration certificate
• Annual tax payment certificate
• bill
• packing list
• Technical approval (for importing used vehicles and heavy machinery)
Source: China Used Car Export Country Guide 2023
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