Many new carmakers are now entering the Vietnamese expanding car market, featuring the strong penetration at International Means of Transport, Automobile and Petroleum Show, or Autopetro 2007, that opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 1.
At the show, truck and bus manufacturer Truong Hai Auto introduced passenger cars from five to seven seats, including Picanto, Cerato, Optima, New Carens and Sorento - the latest models KIA Motors has launched in the U.S., the EU and Asia.
KIA Motors and Truong Hai earlier had signed a strategic cooperation agreement to manufacture and sell KIA cars in Vietnam. Under the deal, Truong Hai initially imports cars from KIA Motors factory in Korea for sale in Vietnam with technology, training, technical and marketing supports from the Korean partner.
Tran Ba Duong, president of Truong Hai Auto, said it wants to take advantage of the event to boost publicity of KIA cars, which will be manufactured in the central province of Quang Nam early next year.
He said it is building a 30-hectare factory to assemble cars using complete knock-down (CKD) components at Chu Lai economic zone in the province, worth some US$22 million for the initial phase.
Malaysia’s JRD Motor Industries (Vietnam) Co., meanwhile, is introducing several vehicles after the launch of its first autos in Ho Chi Minh City late last month. The company marketed nine types of vehicles, including SUVs, MPVs, light trucks and pick-ups, which are available for sale at the showrooms of 20 JRD dealerships throughout Vietnam.
The retail price of JRD vehicles ranges from US$4,800 to nearly US$19,000, including value-added tax.
The company expects to sell 2,000 vehicles in Vietnam and export 500 units this year. Jimmy Liew, president of JRD Automobiles Group, said some 70 per cent of the output would be sold into the ASEAN and Middle East markets and the rest is for the local market.
JRD Motor Industries (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. produces five-to-seven-seat cars, and light and pickup trucks at the US$30-million automobile factory in the central province of Phu Yen, which was inaugurated last September.
Lifan from China is also a relatively new name in the local auto industry, so it also takes this opportunity to make its name better known.
Do Quang Minh, deputy managing director of Bao Toan Auto Joint Stock Co., the exclusive distributor of Lifan five-seat vehicles in Vietnam, said that first cars assembled in Vietnam have been launched for some four months, including Lifan 7130A 1.3l worth US$14,500 and Lifan 7160 1.6L worth US$16,500.
Up to now, there have been some 500 cars sold, of which taxi firms account for some 50 per cent. The company hoped to sell 1,000 cars this year and increase sale to 1,500 cars next year.
At the show, besides component suppliers from Germany, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and China, there are also 23 component companies from Thailand.
Most member companies of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) are keeping away from the four-day Autopetro 2007 show.
The event will feature several seminars on the development policies for Vietnam’s automobile industry, lessons that can be learnt from previous experiences, and on studies about successful growth models. The annual event switches between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. (VnExpress, SGT)
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