Mitsubishi Motors plans to expand its operations in Vietnam, as it looks to increase its exposure to one of Asia's most promising developing markets, according to reports in the region.
The Vietnamese vehicle market has tripled since hitting a low of just over 80,000 units in 2012, according to data released by the Vietnamese Automobile Vehicle Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
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By GlobalDataLast year, overall sales declined by close to 8% to 251,000 units, but have begun to recover in recent months.
Mitsubishi remains a small player in this market, however, with just 6,672 sales last year according to the association.
Speaking at a launch ceremony for the Triton pickup truck, Mitsubishi's CEO Osamu Masuko said his company was planning to increase local component and materials sourcing in the country. He believes it is time to move the Vietnamese operations on from being just a completely knocked down (CKD) kit assembler to the next level.
He told the Nikkei Asia Review "to be a true winner, we must develop production and exports to certain levels in each country".
The company currently has a small assembly operation in the southern province of Binh Duong with a production capacity of just 5,000 vehicles per year.
It is currently building a second plant in the country which is scheduled to become operational by 2020 with an annual capacity of up to 50,000 vehicles.
