Suzuki mulls assembling passenger cars in Vietnam

Japanese automaker Suzuki is possible to assemble passenger cars in Vietnam in the coming time, a leader of the company says.

Toshiyuki Takahara, general director of Suzuki Vietnam, told local media that the country is a key market for the company and it is considering assembling certain models there.

When selecting a country for establishing a car assembly plant, Suzuki needs to take into consideration the possible sales volume, he said, but did not mention a specific target, saying it was a trade secret.

With its current market share, it is more reason for it to import completely built unit (CBU) cars for local distribution, he added.

Suzuki now assembles light trucks and vans in Vietnam. But all passenger cars, including four- and seven-seater, are imported from Indonesia and Thailand.

Takahara said assembling passenger cars in the country requires huge capital investments in the production line. If the assembling depends on imported components, it would be ineffective because of increasing costs, resulting in higher car prices.

Suzuki’s market share in Vietnam has been increasing over the past three years. It sold more than 6,800 vehicles in 2018, accounting for 2.5 percent of the market share. Last year, these numbers increased to 11,780 and 3.9 percent, correspondingly.

The market share of Suzuki brand cars increased to 5.1 percent in the first 9 months of this year.