Hung Le
Vichai Jirathiyut (L), president of the Thailand Automotive Institute, speaks at a seminar in HCMC on April 2 - PHOTO: HUNG LE
Speaking at a seminar on Vietnam’s auto and bike market in HCMC on April 2, Vichai said this country’s auto industry has obtained high growth in recent years. Last year, output was 120,000 units, up 29% versus 2013, while auto sales jumped 35% year-on-year.
The market is expected to grow further given the low ratio of car owners currently, Vichai said.
Thailand has a population of 67 million with a high ratio of elderly citizens but it consumes 880,000 cars a year. Meanwhile, Vietnam has over 90 million people, a majority of them young people, so auto demand in this market should be higher, he added.
Besides the potential, the Government is determined to develop the auto sector. The auto industry is projected to manufacture 220,000 cars in 2020 and 1.5 million units in 2035.
However, Vichai called for Vietnam to develop supporting industries.
Vietnam and Thailand have different auto industry policies, so both sides should cooperate rather than compete. For instance, the two countries can join hands to attract investors from other parts of the world.
Thai producers have many advanced technologies that will benefit Vietnamese enterprises. Therefore, both sides should discuss and share information to develop the auto and auto parts sectors.
In fact, many experts and auto firms are concerned that Vietnam would become a big auto consumer in the region as it has started import tariff reductions in accordance with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
Vietnamese auto makers have seen low localization ratios of 10-30% depending on products. When car import tax turns zero in 2018, part imports and car assembly in Vietnam will be costlier than completely built-up unit imports from Thailand or Indonesia.
Đăng ký: VietNam News