Skoda has taken an important step in its internationalisation strategy today with its entry into the Vietnamese market. A celebratory event took place with representatives of the Vietnamese and Czech governments alongside Skoda’s local distribution and production partner, TC Group.
Skoda projects a rapid expansion of the dealer network to as many as 30 partners and an annual sales potential of over 40,000 units beyond 2030. The first models, starting with the Karoq and Kodiaq, will be imported from Europe. Local CKD production, planned to start next year, aims to leverage synergies due to the country’s proximity to India. Skoda views Vietnam as a gateway to the promising ASEAN region.
Customers can purchase the Karoq and
Kodiaq at the first Skoda showroom in Hanoi from 25 September onwards.
Additional showrooms in central and south Vietnam are in the pipeline.
The goal is to expand the dealer network to 20 Skoda dealerships by 2025
and 30 by 2028.
Skoda has a well-defined roadmap for the
Vietnamese market, with plans to expand its model portfolio in response
to customer preferences. The Octavia and Superb models are slated for
importation to Vietnam in the medium term. Additionally, the
all-electric Enyaq family is being introduced to cater to the growing
demand for electric vehicles among Vietnamese consumers.
Starting
in the second half of 2024, Skoda will be tapping into significant
regional synergies. By then, the first Kushaq vehicles will have been
exported from the Pune facility in India to Vietnam for assembly from
CKD kits, with the Slavia set to follow in 2025. Construction of a
production line at the Viet Hung Industrial Park in Quang Ninh province
by Skoda’s local partner TC Group is already underway. Based on market
trends, there are ambitions to ramp up production, potentially
assembling as many as 27,000 vehicles annually after 2027.
The
automotive market in Vietnam is exceptionally dynamic. At present,
Vietnam is the fourth strongest automotive market in Southeast Asia.
Moreover, with only 38 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in a population of
roughly 100 million people and given the anticipated national economic
growth, Vietnam is emerging as the country with the highest growth
potential in the region. Skoda foresees annual sales of 30,000 units in
the medium term, with that figure rising to more than 40,000 units after
2030. The capacity at the Viet Hung Industrial Park, where the TC
Group-owned plant is located, could be used in the future to expand
production with a view to potentially exporting Skoda models across the
entire ASEAN region.
