Car maker Truong Hai Automobile company (Thaco) has opened a new bus plant in the Chu Lai-Truong Hai Industrial Complex in Quang Nam Province. It will make 20,000 buses and minibuses a year from 2018, mostly for export to ASEAN countries.

Deputy director of Thaco, Pham Van Tai, said the plant, which covered 17ha and involved investment of more than US$300 million, would supply high-quality vehicles. He said the new plant, built using 60 per cent Vietnamese-made components, would produce engines meeting Euro 4 Emission Standards.

"We have sped up the localisation ratio to produce good quality and competitively priced vehicles to take advantage of the zero tax being introduced throughout the ASEAN region next year,” Tai said.

He said the company had developed a supportive industry zone with 24 plants producing spare parts and accessories for local use and export.

Thaco has also built a research and development centre at the new bus plant as well as an automatic welding line and power coating for painting vehicles.

In 2010, Thaco invested $44 million to build the first plant to make 45-seat buses with a capacity of 5,000 vehicle per year. — VNS