Vietnam’s automotive industry has witnessed tremendous growth in recent years and is expected to be one of the fastest-growing markets in the ASEAN region over the next 20 years. Car ownership rate in Vietnam (2%) is still quite low compared to other countries in the region, which is also the potential for development for the whole industry.

In this context, Ford Vietnam has continuously recorded favorable business results with several record sales in recent years. Currently, Ford is one of the three fastest-growing auto brands in the market with 3/6 models leading the respective segments in Vietnam.

In 2019, Ford Vietnam reported record sales, up 31% over the same period in 2018, reaching 32,175 cars, the highest during a quarter of a journey in the Vietnamese market. The Ranger, Transit and Explorer have been leading the respective segments for many consecutive years. This growth reflects the strong demand for Ford’s entire diverse product portfolio in particular and the growth of the entire automotive market in general.

Thus, the plan to invest the additional $82 million in domestic production will help us grow stronger and serve more Vietnamese customers. The investment package to enhance the production capacity of Ford Hai Duong factory is also a demonstration of Ford Motor Corporation’s confidence of in the potential of the automotive industry in Vietnam, realizing Ford’s long-term commitment and contributing to meeting the growing needs of domestic customers for the wide range of Ford products.

The additional $82 million investment package will include upgrading and expanding the production area of Ford Hai Duong factory. The project is divided into 2 phases and is expected to be completed in mid 2022.

The expanded workshop has an area of 60,000 square meters, bringing the total area of the production area to 226,000 square meters, including workshops for welding body, painting, finishing assembly, gathering materials, warehouse and finished car parking.

A large part of the investment budget this time is used to invest in new equipment for the line, including self-propelled robot systems, which improve efficiency and ensure the highest quality of products assembled at Ford Hai Duong factory.

Currently, Ford’s locally assembled car portfolio are all popular and highly competitive products in Vietnam market including EcoSport SUVs, Ford Transit commercial car and recently 7-seat MPV Ford Tourneo.

At present, we prioritise meeting the growing demand of the domestic market for Ford products. However, we still export small batches to explore the market when the opportunity arises.

The expansion of the Hai Duong factory will open up new opportunities for Ford to increase the number of locally assembled cars. Specifically, when the expansion investment is completed, it will help us increase capacity by nearly 3 times from the current 14,000 cars to 40,000 cars/year, ensuring a stable supply and commensurate with the increasing demand from customers (for example, demand in 2019 helped the company sell over 30,000 cars, up 31%).

We believe that continuing to invest in the factory is a right decision of Ford, which will bring good values to the domestic market and local people in the future.