Myanmar's Ford dealership

Our group atop a popular Ford truck in Yangon

I'm going to get back to my blogs about Myanmar, such a beautiful and fascinating country.  Our trip there was last fall, so I'm a bit behind, but next I'll move on to our completely business-oriented trip to Southeast Asia in January.  Next round--our planning trip to Southern Africa (Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Botswana) in April.


While we were in Yangon, we visited a brand new Ford dealership, solid evidence of the turnaround in U.S. policy towards Myanmar as it slowly makes political changes.  But, don't expect rapid democratization yet.


It is very expensive to buy cars in Myanmar because of the hefty duties and taxes.  A Rolls Royce is over $1 million US.  People pay cash because, as yet, there are no banks that can handle the foreign exchange needs.  So, imagine who has the money to pay $1 million for a car--not your average shopkeeper or farmer.  People actually pull up to the Ford dealership with a trunk full of cash to buy a Ford, which is very popular.  Their average car costs about $70,000 US (for a Ford Focus).

A favorite Ford in Myanmar

It's impossible to quote a price on a car until it actually arrives on the showroom floor because the duty may change.  Right now, Nissan is planning to build cars in Myanmar, with the Azusa already assembled there.  That puts Ford at a price disadvantage.


We've driven on the best roads in Yangon, but once you get outside the city, there are huge potholes.  The biggest car repairs are suspension related and, since Ford has a very strong suspension, it is popular.  They can't keep their cars in stock.


Highway safety is not a priority yet, though no doubt will be soon as driving is hazardous.  Because more people can buy cars today, the accident rate is way up.  Many cars have no lights for night driving and some drivers who do have lights use their high beams because they can see better, but they don't understand the impact of their brights on oncoming drivers.  Road etiquette is still in the future.


This Ford dealership is a joint venture, where Ford's partner owns the land.  Average wages are $200 per month, good for Myanmar.  Ford is focused (no pun) on teaching its employees key skills, from English to how to read a manual to the technical parts of Fords to mechanics.  The Burmese are highly motivated and work hard to learn the skills they need to be successful.  Because they have such a big need for trained people, this dealership is training people in 4 weeks for jobs that take 4 years training in the US.  This means that there must be at least 1 very strong technical person in each area to oversee and train employees.