Kim Long Motors, China’s Changan Automobile to build 50,000-unit plant in central Vietnam

Vietnamese automaker Kim Long Motors and China’s Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. will join hands to build a plant manufacturing 5-7 seat passenger cars in the central city of Hue.

Under a cooperation agreement signed between Changan Automobile and Kim Long Motor Hue JSC in Hue on Tuesday, the Kim Long Truong An Vietnam plant will be built on a 30-hectare site, with a designed capacity of 50,000 units per year.

Its construction is expected to begin in 2025, with a localization rate of 40% initially and 80% by the second quarter of 2026.

According to Wang Hui, deputy CEO of Changan Automobile, the cooperation with Kim Long Motor Hue is an important step in the firm’s global strategy and marks a crucial starting point for its entry into the Vietnamese market.

Both sides will engage in extensive cooperation in product technology, brand marketing, supply chain, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) collaboration, and corporate social responsibility, he noted.

Changan Automobile, established in 1862 and headquartered in Jiangbei, Chongqing, boasts the biggest sales and is the oldest and largest state-owned automobile group in China. Its products cover both commercial and passenger vehicles, with renowned member brands such as Changan, Deepal, and Avatr.

Earlier, in mid-November 2024, Vietnam’s Kim Long Motors and Futa Group have struck a strategic cooperation agreement with China’s Dongfem Dana that will enable the production and export of cars under the Kim Long brand.

Under the deal, the trio will collaborate on the transfer of technology and production lines as well as exclusive distribution of automotive axles, including both internal combustion and electric vehicle axles, in Vietnam.

In August 2024, Kim Long Motors and China’s automobile engine manufacturer Yuchai kicked off the construction of a $260-million vehicle engine factory in Thua Thien-Hue province, now centrally-governed Hue city.

The facility is located in the 600-hectare Kim Long Motors Hue Industrial Park, specialized in automobile assembly and manufacturing, within the Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone.

In February 2024, the firm inaugurated a VND3,500 billion ($143.7 million) automobile factory in the same locality. Construction of the plant began in February 2023 and was completed in less than a year. The 38-hectare factory has an annual capacity of 50,000 units.