transport & Infrastructure

The primary motor vehicle manufacturing segment grew by 7.1 percent from September 2024 and recorded an impressive 24.8 percent increase compared to October 2023. Year-to-date growth reached 14.0 percent, reflecting strong demand for vehicles and Vietnam’s expanding capabilities in automotive production.

The assembly factory was established in 1995 on a 30 year lease set to expire next year but there have been bureaucratic problems with extending the lease that has meant the factory has had to slow production and there were reports back in August it might shut down altogether.

Passenger cars led the market, with October sales hitting 26,453 units—up 4 percent from the same month last year. This category remains the backbone of Vietnam’s automotive industry, with year-to-date sales reaching 169,363 units. The steady growth highlights a consistent demand for personal vehicles among Vietnamese consumers…

Thanh Nien has reported that this is a back-up option to be utilised if the company cannot find capital sources elsewhere. It also notes that existing debt owed to VinGroup will be converted into shares of VinFast…

This is notably in that the factory was officially put on hold earlier this year, as the nascent car maker deals with huge losses, legal action, and little interest in its vehicles in the US market. VinFast has said the factory, which was scheduled to start operating next year, will now start operating in 2028.

Year on year sales are also up about 2 percent, on the back of the jump in sales in September. Car imports are also up averaging 13,820 units a month so far this year which is up from an average of 9,612 in 2023…

The joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and local firm SAMCO had requested an extension of its land lease as far back as 2021, however, the request was never actioned due to the aforementioned regulatory challenges (the can was kicked down the road). This came to a head earlier this year, however, when the company said it was considering shutting down its operations in Vietnam altogether as a result of the lolly-gagging…

A new assembly plant for the Czech Republic’s Skoda vehicles is set to go into operation later this year in northern Vietnam, The Investor is reporting. The plant in Quang Ninh province is 90 percent complete, according to the firm, and began a trial run back in May. Set on 36.5 hectares the factory will add a capacity of 120,000 vehicles a year to Vietnam’s automotive industry…

Of note, Vietnam’s cities are already straining to accommodate the rise in car ownership and the penetration rate is only around 5 percent. If the country is to reach car sales of 1 million units a year, there will need to be some fairly big investments in infrastructure. It’s not clear how or if this will be addressed…