Vietnam truck maker to build cheap sedans

Local truck maker Vinaxuki said that it is planning to invest 1.2 trillion dong (US$72.2 million) over the next four years to produce a cheap Chinese sedan in Vietnam. Construction on the sedan factory would begin in the third quarter of this year, with an initial investment of 500 billion dong (US$30.1 million), the Hanoi-based privately owned automaker said. The factory, which will be adjacent to Vinaxuki’s existing truck plant in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District, will roll out its first sedan at the end of this year. According to Vinaxuki General Director Bui Ngoc Huyen, the new plant will initially produce two Chinese five-seat sedan models, the Hafei 1.1 liter and Hafei 1.3 liter, both with the most competitive prices in the market. “Retail prices for our first two sedan models will be just 60% of other models with similar engine capacities,” he said. Vinaxuki, which hopes to sell 12,000 vehicles this year, sold 5,000 trucks in the first four months of the year, accounting for 8.8% of the overall market share. (May 27, 2008)