Russian vehicle makers will set up joint ventures in Viet Nam to manufacture and assemble trucks and cars with 10 seats and above, crossover utility vehicles and several kinds of special-purpose vehicles.

This is part of a deal signed between Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and the Russian Ambassador to Viet Nam Konstantin V.Vnukov in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

Under the revised protocol, automobiles manufactured by joint ventures must comply with Prime Ministerial Decision No 08/2017/QD-TTgCP and Government Decree No 116/2017/ND-CP. These stipulate the conditions on manufacturing, assembling, importing and trading in warranty services, automobile maintenance and other related documents.

Viet Nam will allow the venture to import duty-free 2,550 complete built-up units and 13,500 sets of automobile parts from 2018 to 2022 as a way of exploring the capacity and tastes of the market.

The revised protocol will provide more favorable conditions for Russian automakers, including KAMAZ, GAZ and UAZ, to explore and penetrate the Vietnamese market as well as creating diverse options for Vietnamese consumers.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Tuan Anh said that although the protocol was effective from October 5 last year, it was a new field of co-operation. Management mechanisms and policies for the vehicle industry in Viet Nam were in the process of completion, so enterprises had yet to benefit from the protocol’s preferential treatment.— VNS