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Secondhand vehicle assembly to end
Secondhand vehicle assembly factories in Laos will soon close as the government has made it clear it will no longer allow the import of used parts.
Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr Nam Vinhaket said last week the government had no intention of resuming the import of used vehicle spare parts for the purpose of reassembly, after finding the business is having a negative impact on consumers and the environment.
“Laos has become a market of broken cars and we can no longer accept the situation,” he said in an interview with media last week.
“In the past, we believed we should import used cars so people had the option of buying a cheaper vehicle but now the situation has changed.”
Dr Nam made the comment after the government decided to suspend imports of secondhand vehicles last month. However, businesspeople want the government to make it clear whether the prohibition includes the operation of secondhand vehicle assembly plants.
Dr Nam said the owners of these factories must start to make new cars or change their line of business otherwise they will not be able to survive in the country's new business environment.
It is possible for these factories to produce new vehicles because some Lao plants are already manufacturing new motorbikes, he said. Factories could also switch to making new vehicle parts for export.
Laos could become a regional production base for vehicle parts as thousands of components are required. One Lao business is already producing cables for vehicle use, he said.
In response to complaints by factory owners, Dr Nam said the collapse of the secondhand vehicle assembly industry would not have a serious negative impact on either factory owners or workers, as many people understood the government's position.
He had sent a team of officials to assess the potential negative impact of the government's decision to end the import of secondhand vehicles and found that factories did not employ as many workers as was reported.
Factory owners should not oppose the government's decision, as they would not benefit from doing so. Those who stood to benefit from going against the decision were overseas businesses that wanted to dump scrap metal in Laos, Dr Nam said.
The government had issued a number of warnings to secondhand vehicle factory owners in the past. They should not complain that they are not ready to close or ask the government to prolong their operation.
Dr Nam said their operations would never come to an end if the government decided to allow the continued import of parts.
vientiane times
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