Hyundai opens new Vietnam car factory with 100,000-unit capacity

A joint venture between South Korea's Hyundai Motor and Vietnamese conglomerate Thanh Cong Group has opened a sprawling new factory in northern Vietnam, as it looks to expand production and hold on to its top spot in the market.

The plant, located in Ninh Binh province, has an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. Combined with existing facilities, the joint venture's output capacity is expected to reach 180,000 by 2025. The new plant will produce cars for export to other countries in the region, in addition to the domestic market.

Investments by the joint venture in the roughly 50-hectare plant, which includes a test track, total 3.2 trillion Vietnamese dong ($129 million).

At a ceremony for the new facility, Thanh Cong Chairman Nguyen Anh Tuan said, "We have transferred the latest technology from South Korea and will be producing high-quality environmentally friendly vehicles here."

Hyundai entered the Vietnamese market in 2009 as a joint venture with Thanh Cong. In 2021, it sold about 70,000 vehicles there, surpassing Toyota, and is believed to currently be the number one seller in the country.

According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA), domestic sales of new cars in 2021 were approximately 304,000 units, up 2.5% from the year before. Total auto sales in the country are estimated to be over 400,000 units, including Hyundai, which is not a VAMA member.

With a strong economy creating an expanding middle class, the domestic auto market is expected to grow in the future.

As for local producers, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup, opened an automobile factory in the northern city of Haiphong in 2019 and is currently focusing on electric vehicles.

Source:Asia.nikkei.com