4 Chinese car brands are about to enter the Vietnamese market

1. Chery

Chery has confirmed its plan to enter the Vietnamese auto market through an online press conference at the end of 2022. The first product to be introduced will be the Omoda 5, which is expected to be distributed in 3 versions with prices starting from 699 million VND. Chery Omoda 5 is a B-segment SUV with length x width x height of 4,400x1,830x1,585 (mm) and a wheelbase of 2,630mm. The car has 2 gasoline engine options: 1.5L and 1.6L turbocharged with maximum capacity of 154 horsepower and 194 horsepower, respectively. In addition, Chery also informed that the Omoda 5 model will be localized in the Vietnamese market from 2024. The Chinese automaker is also looking for partners to open a domestic factory and will also set up its own dealers in Vietnam to develop its business. Chery is currently China's largest auto exporter for 20 years (as of the end of 2022). In 2022, Chery Group sold a total of more than 1.232 million units and exported 451,337 cars globally. 2. Wuling

Recently, TMT Motors has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture to manufacture, assemble and distribute Wuling brand electric vehicles in the Vietnamese market. The first model sold by the company is the HongGuang Mini EV - the world's best-selling mini electric car in the past 3 years. The HongGuang Mini EV will be announced in detail and priced in the second quarter, with the car expected to launch at the end of this year. In particular, this model is rumored to cost more than 200 million VND, so it is expected to become a "national" small car in Vietnam. According to some sources, TMT Motors' factory is also being upgraded to be able to assemble the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV, with an expected capacity of 30,000 vehicles/year. In addition, TMT Motors is also considering introducing some other Wuling electric car models in the near future. 3. Haima

After a period of unsuccessful business, the Chinese brand Haima officially returned to the Vietnamese market at the end of February 2023 through a new distributor named Carvivu. In this return, Haima will introduce to Vietnamese customers 3 car models named S8, 7X and 7X-E. However, distributor Carvivu said they will only import and sell Haima car lines, not mentioning official production or assembly in the Vietnamese market. But the company's product catalog will include both gasoline and electric cars. Among the cars to be sold in Vietnam, 7X-E is a pure electric car equipped with a 73.7kWh battery pack and a maximum capacity of 201 horsepower for a maximum travel distance of 510km/charge. The 7X model is also an MPV segment similar to the 7X-E but uses a gasoline engine with 2 options including a 1.5 Turbo engine with a capacity of 162 horsepower. The remaining S8 is a model in the C-SUV segment with a front end design quite similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe model. The prices of all 3 models in Vietnam have not been announced. In China, Haima's sales are being competed by many other strong brands. Haima's sales in 2022 reached 13,371 vehicles, of which the MPV 7X and SUV S8 sold 6,844 and 927 vehicles, respectively, although the selling price in China of these 2 models is quite cheap. 4. BYD

In early 2023, the Vietnamese auto market was surprised by the news that BYD - the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer - planned to build an electric car factory in Vietnam. In fact, this factory will produce components to supply to the electric car assembly plant in Thailand. However, BYD also did not rule out the possibility of entering the Vietnamese market with imported electric car models but still had to wait for the company's assessment of the domestic market. Previously, BYD also registered industrial designs for 2 car models in Vietnam, of which 1 model is Destroyer 05 - a hybrid sedan currently sold by the company in China and 1 model is Cruiser 05 - a C-size SUV that has not yet been officially sold on the market. This is the first step for BYD's auto business in Vietnam in the future. BYD is a Chinese manufacturer specializing in hybrid and pure electric cars. Like Tesla, BYD also controls much of its supply chain, including battery production. By investing in Vietnam, the automaker is looking to add capacity, control costs and diversify production outside the Chinese market.

Vu Tung