Today marked the grand opening of the first authorized Ford Motor dealership in Myanmar in Southeast Asia. In April, the Dearborn-based automaker became the first global automaker to announce its brand’s official entry into the Myanmar market.
Located in Yangon, the new 27,986-square-foot facility includes a 12-vehicle showroom and 12-vehicle servicing capacity.
“Every aspect of the facility has been designed and built to provide an industry-leading customer experience … here in Myanmar, where for many people, a new Ford will be the first vehicle they have ever owned,” David Westerman, regional manager of Asia Pacific Emerging Markets Group for Ford, said in a statement.
The grand opening event showcased Ford vehicles that are already available in Myanmar, including the Ford Ranger, Taurus, and Explorer. That selection will continue to grow over the coming months, Westerman said.
Entry of the Ford brand into Myanmar will help support the company’s overall growth strategy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, which represents a combined population of 600 million. The automaker is experiencing its largest industrial expansion in more than 50 years and anticipates that 60 percent to 70 percent of its global growth by 2020 will occur in the Asia Pacific region.
“This represents the latest step in Ford Motor Co.’s aggressive expansion in Asia Pacific, and will help us to more fully realize the opportunity across the ASEAN region,” said Matt Bradley, president of Ford ASEAN.
To help train technician, sales, and service people, Ford is working with emerging markets specialist RMA Group. The RMA Academy offers a month-long Ford technician immersion program at its training facility in Laem Chabang, Thailand. The academy’s curriculum covers a wide-range of services and skills, including repair requirements, how to carry out routine servicing, electronics, and measurements.
Ford also announced today that the base manufacturer’s warranty on all Ford vehicles sold in Myanmar will be five years/100,000 kilometres (62,137 miles).
