While the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and experts have decided that Vietnam needs to develop an automobile industry of its own, other experts believe that the ‘automobile dream’ is ‘far away’ and that Vietnam should focus on making 2-wheel vehicles.
After five years of joining the market, Pega has announced it has succeeded in making electric vehicles, becoming the first Vietnamese brand in 2-wheel vehicle manufacturing.
Pega’s products now have 85 percent of component value made domestically. Its main factory, covering an area of 15,000 square meters, located in Song Khe – Noi Hoang IZ in Bac Giang province, is designed to make 40,000 products a month.
Pega’s major partners, the suppliers of components, have factories in Ha Dong district in Hanoi, Vinh Phuc and Bac Ninh. They are all prestigious companies which ensure high quality products. Vietnam’s bamboo-made bicycles worth thousands of dollars have also been launched into the domestic market and exported.
Luong Thi Phi Loan, director of the Thien Chi Community Support & Development Center, a business in Binh Thuan province that manufactures and exports bicycles, said 80 percent of materials used on the bike are bamboo. The company has received numerous orders from the US and Germany.
Vietbamboo is also a successful bamboo bicycle manufacturer with products sold between VND15 million and VND40 million.
Analysts said that Vietnam has great opportunities to manufacture 2-wheel vehicles. It has a highly rated ecosystem with experienced component manufacturers which can satisfy requirements in materials, manufacturing standards, quality control and testing.
Vietnam is one of the biggest personal 2-wheel vehicle consumer markets in the world.
Analysts believe that it will continue to be a lucrative market in the upcoming years as demand has been increasing.
To implement the localization plan, at first enterprises need to master the design and research, then seek component suppliers.
They can also consider either making products in Vietnam or outsourcing to the ‘world’s production base’ – China.
The localization will allow enterprises to stabilize production, satisfy market demand in the long term, and provide reasonable post-sale services.
This will settle a problem now that manufacturers change design regularly and users have to throw away used vehicles because they cannot find high-quality spare parts.
Le Hoang Long, CEO of Pega, said Vietnam now has excellent capability of making 2-wheel vehicles. He can also see great opportunities to cooperate with technology partners like Bosch and Panasonic to make electric scooters with smart features.