A Kamaz truck of the Vinacomin Motor Industry Joint Stock Company (VMIC) in the northern province of Quang Ninh’s Cam Pha City. — Photo vmicauto.vn

Kogogin said KamAZ would invest US$10 million in the factory in Viet Nam, which would annually produce 1,000 units in the first phase.

The Russian automaker previously assembled cars in Viet Nam, focusing on dump trucks for the mining industry, chassis for Vietnamese manufacturers’ vehicles with wide floor, oil tank trucks and special-purpose vehicles. However, it then stopped operations in the country when the import of completely-built trucks became more profitable.

According to the KamAZ CEO, the current situation of the Vietnamese automobile market has once again changed in a way that is convenient for on-site assembly.

Deputy CEO in charge of foreign trade of Kamaz Vasily Tsyganov, who knows the inside situation of the Vietnamese car market, told Sputnik that his company had been a shareholder of Vinacomin Motor Industry Joint Stock Company (VMIC) in the northern province of Quang Ninh’s Cam Pha City, an affiliate of Viet Nam National Coal – Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin).

“This company is now almost the only enterprise in Viet Nam with the participation of a Russian automobile manufacturer. Currently, the factory is involved in overhauling heavy vehicles and mining equipment. KamAZ is the largest shareholder of the factory,” Tsyganov said.

He said the VMIC was operating on the basis of the intergovernmental protocol on investment and cooperation of motor vehicle production, signed between the Russian and Vietnamese governments in 2016.

The company is currently capable of producing 2,000 units per year but it will produce the volume of cars meeting the Vietnamese market’s demand first. KamAZ wants to contribute to the development of Viet Nam’s automobile industry.

“If we successfully improve the rate of localisation (local part supply) needed in assembly production in Viet Nam, the products will enjoy significant incentives in all ASEAN countries,” he said.

He said the company has never stopped expanding to other countries in the region. The company’s Vietnamese distributors are operating in the markets of Laos and Cambodia. “The delivery is done regularly although the number is still modest.” — VNS