Geely to assemble vehicles in Vietnam

Geely Automobile Group, seeking to expand its foothold in Southeast Asia, will build vehicles in Vietnam with completely knocked-down kits imported from China, according to the Chinese carmaker’s Vietnamese dealer, Tasco. 

Under an agreement it signed with Geely on Sept. 23, the two sides will jointly construct an assembly plant in the Vietnamese province of Thai Binh, Tasco said. 

Construction of the plant will begin in the first half of next year with customer deliveries slated for early 2026. 

The factory, capable of assembling 75,000 vehicles a year initially, will first build models for the major Chinese carmaker’s Lynk & Co premium brand and mass-market Geely brand. 

The total investment in the factory is estimated at $168 million: 64 percent provided by Tesco and the rest by Geely, according to Tasco.

Geely now exports Lynk & Co and Geely-badged vehicles to Vietnam, where Tasco distributes them. 

Geely started expanding into Southeast Asia in 2017, when it acquired a 49.9 percent interest in Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings from local conglomerate DRB-Hicom. 

At Proton, Geely assembles three crossovers and a sedan with kits imported from China. The vehicles are marketed under the Proton brand in Malaysia. 

Overseas markets have become increasingly important for Geely. 

In the first eight months of the year, sales at the Chinese carmaker jumped 34 percent to approach 1.29 million, with 274,855 generated by exports, an increase of 71 percent. 

Exports accounted for 21 percent of its total global sales through August, according to Geely filings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.