Old Japanese cars have overwhelmed the Myanmar auto market due toits Government’s tax reduction policies and relaxed regulations on usedcars, according to Kyodo News.

The Japanesenews agency quoted statistics from the Myanmar Ministry of Transportwhich showed that the number of pre-owned vehicles from Japan isestimated to account for more than 90 percent of cars on Myanmar 'sroads.

The country had around 390,000 carsregistered as of October 2013, up about 50 percent from the number of260,000 in April 2012.

Kyodo News said automakers also see strong potential demand for new cars, reporting thatSuzuki Motor Corp. returned to Myanmar last year to resume itsproduction of small trucks. Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co. has alsoannounced it will start manufacturing cars in Myanmar in 2015. MazdaMotor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also plan to sell new cars inthis market.

At the same time, Japanese automakerswill also face increased competition by those from Europe and theUS , the news agency said, noting that Ford Motor Co. and GeneralMotors Corp. have opened showrooms in the Southeast Asian country, andGerman luxury car brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also enteringthe market.-VNA