Jaguar Land Rover to Enter Burma’s Car Market

RANGOON — The iconic British-made cars of Jaguar Land Rover will be on sale in Burma from May, the Indian-owned automaker’s local distributor said Monday.

Capital Automotive Ltd—which also distributes Ford vehicles in Burma—has been officially appointed as Jaguar Land Rover’s local dealer, representatives of both companies announced at a press conference in Rangoon.

Khin Tun, Capital Automotive’s managing director, said a showroom selling the carmaker’s high-end vehicles would be open in May in Rangoon’s Insein Township.

“This is the first time brand new Jaguar and Land Rover cars will be sold in Burma, although used cars have already made it into the country. There will also be more models from the Jaguar and Land Rover brands here soon,” Khin Tun said.

Jaguar Land Rover has its headquarters in Coventry, England, but is owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd. Tata is also selling its own-brand vehicles in Burma, and has set up a plant assembling pickup trucks in Magwe Division. Burma’s auto market is currently dominated by secondhand imports from Japan, however.

But Khin Tun said he is confident the luxury cars, despite their high prices, will sell well in Burma.

“There are a lot of rich men in Myanmar,” he said.

Steve Martin, the regional dealer principal of Jaguar Land Rover, said the models available in Burma would include the Jaguar XF, the Land Rover Defender, the Land Rover Discovery 4 and Range Rovers including the Sport and Evoque models.

The Rangoon dealership will offer servicing and spare parts to car owners, and local technicians will be trained at Land Rover’s headquarters, he said.

“It will be one-stop service. More brand-new latest models will be here within 18 months,” Martin said.

source: The Irrawaddy

http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/jaguar-land-rover-enter-burmas-car-market.html