China’s biggest automaker SAIC eyes sales of 100,000 units in Vietnam

"With 100,000 cars sold a year, SAIC can be the third biggest auto company in Vietnam," SAIC Vietnam director of business and marketing, Tran Nam Thang, told VnExpress.

SAIC Vietnam is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

It also plans to start selling MG cars in Vietnam in July, taking it over from Malaysian distributor Tanchong.

SAIC owns MG, originally a U.K. company.

The goal of selling 100,000 cars a year is considered bold, given that Toyota, the biggest player in Vietnam, sold only 91,000 vehicles last year, followed by Hyundai with 81,000 units.

Last year only around 4,300 MG cars were sold in Vietnam.

Selling more than one brand will be a key strategy to achieve this goal.

"The plan to build a factory in Vietnam will help reach the goal," Thang said.

"SAIC owns many brands and can develop its products quickly to meet a range of demands."

The company is considering locating the plant in the north and completing it by 2025. It will not just manufacture cars for the Vietnam market but also for other Southeast Asian countries.

SAIC is the third Chinese company to announce plans to build a plant in Vietnam after BYD and Chery.

The latter plans to sell its first cars in the country by the end of this year.

SAIC sold 5.3 million cars last year and has been the biggest auto company in China for 17 years.