Chinese automaker Chery licensed to invest $800 mln in Vietnam

China's state-owned automaker Chery Automobile has received an investment registration license to pour $800 million into Vietnam’s northern province of Thai Binh.

Thai Binh Chairman Nguyen Khac Than recently granted the license to a joint venture between Chery and its Vietnamese partner Geleximco, part of his participation in the Chery International User Summit & Global User Champion Night in China ending Monday.

The issuance of the document is a major milestone of the project, following the joint venture establishment in April. It is also a testament of Chery’s long-term investment in Vietnam to turn the country into a gateway to deliver products to Southeast Asia.

During factory construction, Chery’s automobile brand Omoda & Jaeco will approach the Vietnamese market by delivering completely built-up (CBU) units from Indonesia. The first product is Omoda C5 with a target of reaching Vietnam later this year.

Than highlighted the investment can help attract more supporting industry businesses to invest in Vietnam and provincial authorities will facilitate the project to the best of their ability.

Initially, Chery will distribute petrol vehicles in Vietnam, then plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).

In April, Geleximco and Omoda & Jaecoo Automobile, a subsidiary of Chery Automobile, signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for a plant that can produce 200,000 vehicles a year, under Omoda & Jaecoo brand.

The $220-million first phase of the three-phase project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, at which stage it will have an annual output of 50,000 units.

The second, $200 million phase will increase the plant’s annual output to 100,000 vehicles in the 2031-2033 period. The final $380 million phase is envisaged to increase annual production to 200,000 units in the 2034-2035 period.