The Vietnamese Are Sick Of Buying Foreign Cars

Apparently, the Vietnamese have had it with foreign cars, plus motorcycles and scooters. Different forces inside the Asian nation are working overtime to bring domestic vehicles to market in as little as two years. Leading the charge is a real estate company called Vingroup JSC.

This is not a joke. Bloomberg broke this bizarre story, and it’s one that could either end in a huge folly, or really shake up the Pacific Rim automotive market. That could spell trouble for Hyundai, Kia, and other automakers.

Construction of the new vehicle production facility is beginning this week. Yes, somehow Vingroup JSC plans to build the facility, then have vehicles rolling off the production line in a mere 24 months. What could possibly go wrong?

One of the driving forces for this automotive manufacturing push in Vietnam is cost. India, for example, has successfully made its own cheap, accessible vehicles for the domestic market, because nobody else wants them. Shiny new Toyotas, Hyundais, and Volkswagens cost too much for many people in the country, hence why the family vehicle could be an ailing scooter.

Admittedly, the Vietnamese car market isn’t huge, but this move could still have a fairly significant impact in other markets.