Vietnamese firm TMT Motors holds electric vehicle ambitions

TMT Motors has plans to invest in electric vehicle production as EVs gain popularity worldwide.

The company has set a target of launching its first EVs in the 2022-2027 period. In the northern province of Hung Yen, where it operates a truck manufacturing plant, TMT is going to work with provincial authorities to ask for an additional 50-80 hectares of industrial park land for its EV ambitions.

TMT has not unveiled precise details, but is considering an annual capacity of 100,000 EVs.

In 2015, India's biggest automotive company - Tata Motors - signed a distribution, supply and technology license agreement for commercial vehicles with TMT. Tata supplied both completely knocked down (CKD) and completely built unit (CBU) vehicles to its Vietnamese partner. Following the milestone, TMT has signed deals with Chinese truck brands to supply the Vietnam market.

VinFast, the car unit of Vietnam’s largest listed conglomerate Vingroup, has gradually shifted to EV manufacturing with global ambitions. The EV startup was established in 2017, launched its first fossil fuel cars in October 2018, and is expanding its EV sales and services networks in Europe and the U.S.

In terms of sales in the Vietnamese market, VinFast said it sold 3,050 cars this May, up 25.6% on April. The volume included 1,909 Fadil units, 425 Lux A2.0, 268 Lux SA2.0, and 448 VF e34 cars. This is the third consecutive month the number of electric VF e34s handed over to customers exceeded 400.

In the first five months of the year, VinFast’s total sales of 12,205 cars in Vietnam comprised 8,228 Fadil, 1,390 Lux A2.0, 1,228 Lux SA2.0, and 1,359 VF e34.