Korea carmakers Hyundai, Kia to put more energy into Vietnam market

Hyundai Motor and its sister automaker Kia are looking to build on their leading positions in Vietnam, and Hyundai Motor Group executive chairman Chung Euisun will accompany Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on his three-day state visit starting Thursday.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, which are under Hyundai Motor Group, unveiled their plans on Wednesday to solidify their lead in the rapidly growing Vietnamese market through the release of new models and sales of popular vehicles, according to the Korea Times.

In order to maintain its lead, Hyundai Motor plans to boost sales of the Accent, Creta and Santa Fe, while developing new SUVs and minivans. In addition, it will start local production of the IONIQ 5 in July to expand its presence in the Vietnamese electric vehicle market.

During the second half of this year, the two Hyundai Thanh Cong Manufacturing Vietnam (HTMV) factories will begin to produce the IONIQ 5, Venue and Palisade. HTMV is a joint venture set up in 2017 by Hyundai Motor and Vietnam's Thanh Cong Group.

Kia also plans to boost the sales of the Sonet, Carnival, Sportage and K3 in the Vietnamese market, the Korea Times added.

Hyundai Motor hosted its ‘2023 CEO Investor Day’ in Seoul on Tuesday, unveiling its visionary mid- to long-term business strategies and financial plans. The Korean carmaker announced the same day that with the aim of actively leveraging its knowledge and heritage of innovation from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, it is committed to a successful transition to the electrification era through its newly introduced strategy, ‘Hyundai Motor Way’.

The company said it will implement this strategy and accelerate its transition toward becoming a smart mobility solution provider by securing a large-scale investment of KRW 109.4 trillion ($84.8 billion) over the next 10 years.

“Furthermore, in order to secure leadership in the future mobility industry, it has decided to focus on future businesses, such as autonomous driving, hydrogen, robotics, and advanced air mobility (AAM),” Hyundai Motor said.

At the Seoul event, Hyundai Motor president and CEO Jaehoon Chang laid out the ‘Hyundai Motor Way’ roadmap for success in the electrification era, emphasizing the company’s advantages as a legacy automaker and its proactive pursuit of leadership in EVs, according to a statement on the company’s website posted the same day.

Executive chairman Chung was not on the list of VIPs at the event as he will accompany Korean President Yoon on his visit to Vietnam as a member of a business delegation that includes 205 Korean companies.

The business mission includes other top Korean business figures like Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group executive chairman Euisun Chung, LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin.

During Yoon’s three-day working trip, the two sides are expected to sign a series of memoranda of understanding in areas including supply chain cooperation such as rare metals, infrastructure exports, and new industrial technology, according to the South Korean president’s office.

As for Hyundai Motor, after establishing HTMV with Vietnamese conglomerate Thanh Cong Group in 2017, the joint venture has produced the Grand i10, Avante, Tucson and Santa Fe at the first HTMV plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

Based on the success of the Hyundai brand in the market, the Korean firm built its second HTMV factory in early 2022 and inaugurated the $129 million facility last November.

The new plant, which covers 50 hectares in Gian Khau Industrial Park, has a designed capacity of 100,000 cars per year, raising the joint venture’s total annual capacity to 180,000 units. Kia started manufacturing in Vietnam in 2004 in collaboration with Vietnamese carmaker Thaco. The Thaco Kia manufacturing facility is inside Thaco Chu Lai, a complex of auto assembly, car part, and engineering factories in the central province of Quang Nam.

In the year to end-May, Hyundai Motor held the top spot in sales volume in Vietnam with 22,903 vehicles, according to an HTMV report. The figure outperformed Toyota Motor Vietnam, which sold 21,547 vehicles, according to the Vietnam Association of Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA). Kia sold 13,951 in the first five months of this year, also according to VAMA.

Hyundai Thanh Cong is not a VAMA member, while Toyota Motor Vietnam, Thaco Kia, Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Ford and others are.

VinFast, the electric vehicle arm of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, which is not a VAMA member, sold 8,483 EVs in the first five months of the year in Vietnam, according to company data.