BMW AG Group (Germany) has confirmed that its partner Truong Hai (Thaco) will assemble series 3, series 5, X3, and X5 in Vietnam.

On December 5, BMW AG announced with its partner Thaco to localize many German car models in Vietnam.

“Vietnamese market has long-term growth potential, and we are happy with the decision to join Thaco in assembling series 3, series 5, X3, X5. BMW also wants to bring Vietnamese customers the best models while enjoying local assemblies”, the BMW statement reads.

Also in this statement, Mr. Ba Duong Tran, Chairman of Thaco said it is an honor that BMW is the next brand to be assembled at the company’s factory in Chu Lai Industrial Park, Quang Nam. This company is assembling and distributing cars of popular brands such as Kia, Mazda, and Peugeot.

Although confirming the cooperation and assembly of BMW cars, neither the German company nor Thaco clearly stated when to start operating the line or when to sell commercial products. Thaco has so far not had any official information about assembled BMW cars. However, the 3 series test runs have appeared at the company’s factory in Chu Lai and its showroom has also displayed this model.

Sales staff began to inform customers about the price of the standard BMW 320i Sport Line version of about VND 1.4 billion, but the production life of 2021 and 2023 of the latest generation can be from more than VND 1.6 billion.

Vietnam is the sixth market in Asia to assemble BMW cars. Factories in India and Thailand are invested by BMW AG; the factory in China is in the form of a joint venture; that in Malaysia and Indonesia are invested by a partner.

According to an industry expert, the fact that BMW allows Thaco to assemble vehicles in Vietnam despite its relatively low sales, less than 2,000 vehicles per year, shows that the German company has long-term business goals and realizes the potential of its partners which may develop in the coming years. Besides, the price of BMW cars can be reduced compared to today, making it easier to reach customers.

Thaco took over Euro Auto’s BMW distribution rights from January 2018. After nearly 5 years, the number of BMW showrooms is 13, of which 3 are divided equally in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the rest are in Nghe An, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, VND Nai, Can Tho and Dak Lak provinces. Rival Mercedes has 18 showrooms and service workshops.

Thaco does not publish specific sales figures of BMW but aggregates with its subsidiary Mini. Sales of this duo in 2021 are 1,262 vehicles. After 10 months of 2022, the sales of both reached 925 vehicles. According to a source of VnExpress, BMW sales in 3 years of 2019, 2020, 2021 are about 2,700 cars, while rival Mercedes is more than 18,000 cars.

Source: vnexpress.net