US automaker Polaris commences construction of northern Vietnam factory

The U.S.-based Polaris, an automaker in the Fortune 500 list, conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for its factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on Wednesday.

The 12-hectare factory in Ba Thien II Industrial Park, Binh Xuyen district, has a total investment of $40 million and is set to employ 600 local employees. It will manufacture motors, motorbikes, and components of motorbikes and cars, for export to Asia-Pacific countries, totaling 30,000 products a year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vinh Phuc Chairman Le Duy Thanh highlighted the key role of the project in the province’s socioeconomic growth and urged Polaris to encourage more American investors to come to the province.

In April, Hoang Thuy Lan, chief of Vinh Phuc's Party Committee, delivered an investment certificate to Polaris for the manufacturing of high-performance motorcycles under the Indian Motorcycle brand. The new factory is Polaris's 20th in the world.

Prior to the investment, Polaris already operated in Vinh Phuc via its subsidiary Northstar Precision Vietnam, with a factory in Khai Quang Industrial Park, Vinh Yen town.

As of April 20, Vinh Phuc had attracted foreign direct investment of $6.82 billion in 509 projects, according the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The province ranked 17th in Vietnam in terms of FDI capital.

Vinh Phuc is home to many global giants in the auto industry, such as Honda, Toyota, Piaggio, and Daewoo bus.

Vinh Phuc’s index of industrial production fell 2.85% year-on-year in the first four months of this year, according to provincial data. The local authorities attributed the underperformance to the drop in global and domestic demand.