“I first came to Vietnam in 1996 to establish our Vietnamese factory and sales network,” said Toru Kinoshita, president of Toyota Motor Vietnam Co. Ltd. (TMV).
“I worked here again in the late ’90s for a few years and when I returned in 2017, I was immediately struck by how much the country had developed and progressed.”
Toru Kinoshita, President of Toyota Motor Vietnam Co. Ltd. | © TMV The 2018 Toyota Vios | © TMV
As one of the first automotive joint ventures in Vietnam, TMV enjoys a 24 percent market share and has become the most valuable automotive brand in the Vietnamese market. The auto giant assembles 50,000 units a year and total sales have already exceeded 500,000 units. Among the domestic products, Vios, the core strategic model, has consistently been the best-selling model in the market for cumulative years.
“For more than 20 years since its establishment, TMV has reinforced our leading position in Vietnam’s automobile industry for multiple years in a row, not only in business, but also in social contributions as a good citizen of Vietnam,” said Kinoshita.
TMV’s commitment to the local manufacturing industry was tested last year when the government lifted tariffs on imported cars from Association of Southeast Asian Nation countries.
“Local automotive players were concerned with their ability to compete with imported vehicles,” said Kinoshita.
“To meet the growth of Vietnam market potentiality, Toyota Vietnam will continue our commitment to foster local production, going along with the development of the country on its journey toward motorization.”
With over 1,900 employees and more than 6,000 employees working in 56 dealers and outlets across the country, Toyota aims to consolidate its position as the automotive “king of the road” and contribute to the development of the Vietnamese automobile industry.
“Through the support of the government and the administration’s policies to protect the local automotive industry, we have full confidence in Vietnam and the people here, whom we have come to appreciate so much.”
