HANOI - The Chinese automaker Chery has signed a joint venture agreement with a local company to set up an $800-million electric vehicle plant, the Vietnamese trade ministry said on Thursday.
The venture would be the first EV facility in the country, it said.
The manufacturing plant will be jointly established by the Chery affiliate Omoda & Jaecoo and the Vietnamese company Geleximco in the costal province of Thai Binh, the ministry said in a statement following a signing ceremony.
With a capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year, the factory will produce the Chinese company’s Omoda and Jaecoo electric models. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, the statement added.
In the meantime, Chery, which is also selling cars in Europe and considering a plant in Italy, will import two electric models into Vietnam that will make their debut by the end of this year, the ministry said.
China-based BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, has also sought to set up a factory in Vietnam, although Reuters reported last week it may slow down the plan.
BYD began construction of its first plant in Thailand in March last year, at the WHA Rayong 36 Industrial Estate in Rayong. The factory is expected to have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles with production to start in the third quarter of 2024.
BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s top EV maker in the fourth quarter last year, though both companies have seen a slowdown in sales so far this year.