Honda Vietnam Co. (HVN) will build a second motorcycle plant soon to meet local customers’ diversified needs for motorcycles. Work on the new plant next to the company’s existing plant in Vinh Phuc Province will begin this week.
The US$65-million facility is scheduled to operate in the second half of 2008 with annual capacity of 500,000 units, most of which will be scooters. Together with the existing plant, it will raise Honda Vietnam’s annual production capacity to 1.5 million units.
In 2006, HVN achieved record sales of 851,000 units, up 27% against 2005. Sales in the first half of this year reached 500,000 units, a 27% year-on-year growth. From 1998 when the company launched its first motorcycle model until the end of June 2007, more than 3.7 million units were sold. HVN has exported motorcycles and spare parts to other countries since 2002, becoming the first manufacturer in Vietnam to export this kind of vehicle.
Last month, another Japanese motorcycle maker, Yamaha Motor Vietnam (YMV), also started construction of its second motorcycle factory in Noi Bai Industrial Park, Hanoi. The US$43-million plant, due to begin production in October 2008, has raised YMV’s investment capital from US$80 million to US$123 million. The firm’s sales in the first six months of this year reached 250,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 80,000 units. Experts forecast that customers in Vietnam will buy three million motorcycles this year.