In a letter to group employees in early 2026, Duong announced the company's plan to introduce and sell Thaco-branded passenger cars in 2027. However, he did not specify the name of this passenger car brand or which product would launch first.
According to a VnExpress source, the plan to create a Thaco passenger car brand had existed for years but was not deemed suitable for realization until now. For many years, Thaco has been one of Vietnam's largest manufacturers, assemblers, and distributors of passenger and commercial vehicles. However, aside from some commercial vehicle lines, all current passenger cars distributed by Thaco are from foreign brands.
Thaco's product supply is not autonomous; it relies entirely on foreign partner brands, including Kia, Mazda, Peugeot, and BMW. A portion of BMW's product range, all Mini oto, and the BMW Motorrad moto division are imported. The volume of vehicles assembled by Thaco Auto primarily serves the domestic market. Experts note that when the business performance of these brands declines, it directly reduces the factory's output, leading to significant risks for production operations.
In 2025, Kia and Mazda, the two brands primarily contributing to Thaco's sales, both showed unfavorable results. Kia sold 27,176 vehicles, a 21% decrease, marking the deepest decline in the passenger car market. Compared to Kia's peak in 2021 with nearly 46,000 vehicles, the Korean brand distributed by Thaco has lost 40% of its sales, resulting in a corresponding drop in production. Meanwhile, Mazda and the three premium-positioned brands—Peugeot, BMW, and Mini—have largely stagnated.
"To ensure production efficiency and achieve economies of scale, Thaco could choose to assemble additional brands," an automotive industry strategy expert commented. "This could involve a familiar formula with another foreign brand, or creating its own brand, similar to VinFast's approach."
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Vehicle production line at Thaco Chu Lai factory. *Photo: Duc Huy* |
Creating a Vietnamese passenger car brand represents a new direction for Thaco after decades of accumulating experience through assembling for foreign companies and localizing certain components and parts for passenger oto. Market competition is far more intense than in previous years when Thaco dominated, largely due to the emergence of new brands and the electric vehicle wave.
According to industry experts, Vietnam's domestic automotive sector still has substantial room for growth. Compared to the three leading automotive nations in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has the lowest per capita income but one of the highest growth rates in car purchasing power. In 2025, the Vietnamese market sold 604,134 vehicles of all types, an increase of 22,2% compared to 2025.
Thaco owns a large oto assembly complex in Chu Lai Industrial Park, Da Nang (formerly Quang Nam province), covering over 489,000 square meters, with an annual design capacity of approximately 120,000 vehicles. This capacity ranks third after factories of brands like VinFast and Hyundai. Additionally, Duong's company operates 19 factories producing mechanical components and oto parts, serving both domestic oto assembly and export.
Compared to real estate, agriculture, mechanics, supporting industries, logistics, trade, and services, oto assembly and distribution generate the largest revenue for the Thaco group. In 2026, Thaco Auto achieved revenue of approximately 65,500 ty dong.
Soon in 2026, Thaco will also begin distributing two additional brands: Jeep and Ram (part of the Stellantis group).
Thanh Nhan
