Vietnamese giant selling Chinese electric vehicles unexpectedly sees a 'turnaround' in fortune.

Chinese electric vehicle giant TMT Motors escaped losses and turned profitable in the first half of 2025 thanks to a previous inventory clearance campaign and early repayment of bank loans.

TMT Automobile Joint Stock Company (HoSE-TMT) has just announced its audited consolidated semi-annual financial report for 2025 and an explanation of its Q2/2025 business results.

Accordingly, the consolidated report shows that TMT Motors made a profit of nearly 55 billion VND, compared to a loss of nearly 99 billion VND in the same period last year. The main reason is the reduction in the cost of goods sold due to cost control and a sharp decrease in financial expenses of 27.6 billion VND (according to the separate report), equivalent to a 53.4% ​​reduction.

TMT Motors stated that the significant reduction in financial costs was primarily due to the company's decisive actions to clear inventory and settle bank loans ahead of schedule.

Previously, TMT Motors suffered continuous losses for many quarters, starting from the last quarter of 2023, peaking at nearly 123 billion VND in the fourth quarter of 2024, after having already lost over 100 billion VND in the second quarter of 2024 and approximately 93 billion VND in the third quarter of 2024 due to selling goods below cost, excessively high financial costs, and large inventories.

The major Chinese electric vehicle retailer lost more than half of its charter capital by the end of 2024, with the reason given being "general economic difficulties, a frozen real estate market, the risk of inflation, and people tightening their spending..." leading to a sharp decline in car sales.

TMT Motors faced difficulties when it ventured into the electric vehicle sector in 2023, wiping out all accumulated profits from previous years. In 2023, TMT recorded a 13% decrease in revenue and a 95% decrease in profit. In 2024, TMT also recorded a decrease in revenue and losses. This represents a setback in its business operations, leading to a decline in its financial health.

The sale of Chinese electric vehicles faced significant difficulties in 2023-2024 amidst a general decline in car sales. TMT's business also suffered a sharp decline after its sales plan for the inexpensive Chinese electric vehicle Wuling Hongguang MiniEV failed to meet expectations. In 2024, TMT struggled with the Wuling Hongguang MiniEV, a small electric vehicle popular in China and manufactured by a joint venture between General Motors (USA), SAIC (China), and Wuling (China).

The Wuling was the world's best-selling compact car for four consecutive years (2020-2023). TMT sells it for just 239 million VND/car. At times, the Wuling even received further discounts of several tens of millions of VND.

Despite this, Wuling's sales have been quite slow. In 2023, TMT only sold 591 Wuling Hongguang MiniEV electric vehicles, far below its planned sales of over 5,500 units.

TMT Motors, formerly known as the Trading and Manufacturing Company for Transportation Equipment and Supplies, primarily manufactures, assembles, and sells automobiles and various types of spare parts. TMT Motors is known for many popular truck brands such as Cuu Long, Tata, Howo, and Sinotruk tractor trucks, all with large payload capacities.

Between 2014 and 2017, TMT recorded high profits, amounting to VND 64 billion, VND 187 billion, VND 48 billion, and over VND 11 billion respectively. In 2021 and 2022, TMT also reported profits of over VND 41 billion and over VND 48 billion. The company, chaired by Mr. Bui Van Huu, began facing significant difficulties from 2023 onwards.

TMT is facing difficulties with the Wuling model. Photo: TMT

The GM-SAIC-Wuling joint venture has authorized TMT Motors to exclusively manufacture, assemble, and distribute Wuling-branded electric vehicles in Vietnam. TMT has also opened numerous dealerships in various provinces and cities.

TMT's decision to assemble and distribute electric vehicles was swift, but the results haven't lived up to its ambitions. Market competition is intensifying as VinFast (VFS), owned by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, launches a large number of electric vehicles, while other major players like China's BYD also enter the market.

Recently, TMT has been stepping up its product and supplier restructuring efforts.

In July, TMT Motors announced its ecosystem ranging from mini electric scooters to electric motorcycles, and also revealed plans to build high-speed electric vehicle battery swapping stations. TMT Motors expects to launch five electric motorcycle models in the fourth quarter of 2025. These models are aimed at users who frequently travel in urban areas, such as students, ride-hailing drivers, delivery workers, middle-income workers, and small transport companies.

TMT is also expanding its electric vehicle lineup, which includes a smaller model than the Wuling MiniEV, the Nano S05, a two-seater, two-door car priced only slightly higher than some high-end scooters.

TMT Auto currently aims to have 30,000 charging stations nationwide within the next 5 years. This year alone, the company plans to open approximately 200 charging stations.

In 2025, TMT plans to achieve net revenue of over VND 3,838 billion and after-tax profit of VND 270 billion. Thus, in the first half of this year, TMT has only completed approximately 32% of its revenue target and 20% of its profit target for the entire year.

Two Vietnamese "giants" join forces to sell Chinese cars: Saigon General Services Joint Stock Company has increased its capital contribution to Tasco Automobile Trading Company Limited to expand its business operations, focusing on distributing Geely and Lynk & Co (Chinese) branded vehicles.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ong-lon-viet-ban-xe-dien-trung-quoc-bat-ngo-doi-van-2433837.html