95 pct made-in-Vietnam auto parts for foreign brands

By Doan Dung August 25, 2021 | 05:43 pm PT

Workers assemble a car in a factory of Ford in the northern province of Hai Duong. Photo courtesy of Ford

Nearly 95 percent of auto parts produced in Vietnam are for foreign brands, showing a lack of localization in the industry.

Of the 287 items that have been approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology as of Aug. 17, 15 were registered for VinFast cars.

The rest were all for foreign brands. A total 226 were for Toyota, 15 for Ford and 10 for Honda.

This means Toyota accounts for nearly 79 percent of the registered items.

None of these items include parts for Hyundai and Mazda vehicles, although TC Motor (which assembles Hyundai cars) and Thaco (which assembles Mazda cars) have both previously affirmed they had "high" localization rates.

TC Motor claims the rate at around 20 percent.

Most parts are frames, chairs, and wires that are considered basic. There are no complicated parts like engines and gear boxes.

Vietnamese officials have been calling for a higher localization rate of cars produced in the country for over two decades but the target has not been achieved.