The penetration of Chinese cheap automobiles in Vietnam, slated for August this year, will force carmakers in the country to cut prices, like Chinese motorbikes used to do against motorbike prices previously, many people forecast.
Chinese motorbike and automobile maker Lifan Group will cooperate with Bao Toan Co. and Mekong Saigon Co. in assembling Lifan 520 sedans to turn out its first units for the Vietnamese market in August.
Lifan, which began making automobiles in 2001, will sell its Lifan 520 at a price of $16,000-17,000 each, Mr. Xi Yuan, chief representative of Lifan in Vietnam.
The Lifan 520, which is powered by 1.3L and 1.6L BMW engines, will be assembled by Bao Toan and Mekong Saigon to sell in Vietnam, he said.
The Lifan 520 has won the trust of customers and is being exported to about 20 countries like Russia, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Kuwait, Brazil and Agrentina.
Lifan also has plans to invest some $30 million to build an auto plant in Vietnam. At present, Lifan is manufacturing motorbikes in the country. Lifan factories are headquartered in northern Hung Yen province.
At present, the average price of automobiles in Vietnam is reportedly 1.5-2 times higher than that in regional countries.
Previously, the entry of Chinese motorbikes had forced motorbike makers in the country to cut prices by more than half to compete.
Truong Hai and Vinaxuki, two big Chinese car assemblers, sold 2618 units between January-May of 2006, equal to 27.8 per cent of sales of all 11 foreign-led carmakers in the country (9,418 units), including Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi and GM-Daewoo.
VietNamNet
Vietnamese
