Czech vehicle manufacturer ŠKODA AUTO, working with its local partner Thanh Cong Motor Vietnam (TC Motor), will enter the Vietnamese market as early as 2023, offering the first European models in the country.

ŠKODA anticipates an initial sales volume of 30,000 vehicles per year.

Partnering with ŠKODA on production, imports and sales, Hanoi-based TC Motor’s production line is under construction, due to come online in late 2024 to assemble completely knocked down (CKD) kits for Czech carmaker’s KUSHAQ and SLAVIA models, produced at the company’s plant in Pune, India.

Beginning in 2023, the KODIAQ, KAROQ, SUPERB and OCTAVIA model series will be imported from Europe. In the future, ŠKODA models will produced at TC Motor’s facility in Quang Ninh province. The all-electric ENYAQ iV family models will round off the local portfolio in Vietnam after 2025.

“For ŠKODA AUTO, entering the Vietnamese market is the next logical step in our internationalization strategy,” said Klaus Zellmer, ŠKODA AUTO CEO. “In addition, the geographical proximity to India provides great synergy effects; as early as 2024, we will be exporting vehicle kits from our Indian plant in Pune to Vietnam.”

“Internationalizing our business is an integral part of our Next Level – Skoda Strategy 2030,” commented Martin Jahn, SKODA AUTO board member for sales and marketing. “We see considerable growth potential in Vietnam, and the Czech presidency of the EU Council and the EVFTA free trade agreement create very favorable economic policy conditions.”

ŠKODA AUTO has led the Volkswagen Group’s activities in India since 2019. The Group’s investments total €1 billion, of which €250 million has been allocated to research and development.

The carmaker finds the Vietnam market region particularly dynamic, citing the country’s rank as the fourth strongest automotive market in Southeast Asia. In addition, according to SKODA officials, European brands are likely to grow increasingly prominent in Vietnam as customs duties on goods from the EU are gradually eliminated by 2030. ŠKODA expects the total annual market volume to increase to 1 million vehicles beyond 2030.