Vietnam Seriously Lacks Car Component Suppliers
Vietnam, which witnessed impressive sales of 58,860 cars in January-May, is now facing a serious shortage of automobile component suppliers, said Phan Dang Tuat, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Industry under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
“A car maker needs to have at least 20 component suppliers; but so far in Vietnam there hasn’t been any automobile producer or assembler which has 20 domestic suppliers,” Tuat said at a recent seminar on Vietnam's car and motor market in Hanoi.
Vietnam is now home to nearly 50 domestic and foreign car makers while the number of component suppliers remains modest at 60 only, he added.
In fact, domestic suppliers are all small-scaled, making simple low-tech components such as tires and cabins. Their products can’t meet foreign invested enterprises’ requirements, he said.
“The biggest problem is that local firms stand separately and don’t associate with and support each other in terms of capital, technology and other resources,” said Tuat. “If there were co-operation, firms could cut costs and operate more effectively.”
Tuat also suggested the country establish automobile support industries, with Government assistance.
Due to weak financial and management capacity and poor production planning of automobile manufacturers, Vietnam is still a long way from being a major car-maker despite rich potentials. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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