Thaco, a leading Vietnamese manufacturer and distributor of cars, buses, trucks, and specialized vehicles, will introduce a new Mercedes-Benz bus edition this Saturday.
The latest product for the Vietnamese market is equipped with the Mercedes-Benz OM 457 engine, with two power levels of 348 horsepower and 422 hp, according to Thaco.
Through a partnership with the German automaker for the market, Thaco is responsible for assembling the chassis and doing the finish on the body of the new Mercedes-Benz bus at Thaco Chu Lai Industrial Park, the private Vietnamese conglomerate’s manufacturing base in Quang Nam province, central Vietnam.
The chassis for the new products is produced at the Mercedes-Benz São Bernardo do Campo factory in Brazil.
Two years ago, Thaco became the distributor of Mercedes-Benz buses in Vietnam, starting on June 1, 2020. German auto giant Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz as a subsidiary, concluded the agreement to further expand its bus business in Southeast Asia.
In December 2017, Daimler also signed a contract with Ho Chi Minh City-based Thaco to transfer technology and turned the Vietnamese group into the new distributor of Fuso trucks and buses in the market. Prior to that, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam had been the distributor.
Thaco's ecosystem also includes mechanics, real estate, urban infrastructure development, agriculture, agricultural, logistics, trading, and services.