Thaco opens smart truck, bus showroom

Thaco Chairman Tran Ba Duong stressed at the opening ceremony on January 28 that the centre will serve as an example for its mass development of smart showrooms in 40 provinces and cities nationwide by 2020.

The Da Nang showroom and service centre, which was built in Hoa Vang district on a 2.6ha area with total investment of VND142 billion (US$6.3 million), provides maintenance services using advanced technology for 200 buses and trucks each day.

“The centre – Thaco’s first of its kind in Vietnam – aims to offer a comprehensive service for bus and truck models that Thaco has sold to customers in Vietnam. We also build trust and guarantee top service among our agents and car users in nationwide,” Duong said.

“We offer services to locally made brands Foton, Fuso and Thaco bus in central Vietnam, and Thaco plans to invest VND6 trillion (US$265 million) in the development of service centres through out Vietnam in 2020,” he said.

He added that Thaco has developed 100 showrooms and 60 authorised agents in 63 provinces and cites.

According to the latest report, the local car maker sold nearly 90,000 cars in 2017, claiming 40% market share of automobiles in Vietnam.

Last year, Thaco launched the first made-in-Vietnam bus factory at Quang Nam province’s Chu Lai-Truong Hai Industrial Complex with a capacity of 20,000 buses and minibuses a year, mostly for export.

The Quang Nam-based auto maker has also developed a supporting industry zone with 24 plants producing spare parts and accessories for local use and export.

Thaco, in co-operation with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corporation, has developed a new Mazda factory – the second such Mazda facility in Quang Nam province, with a total investment of US$380 million.

Thaco currently assembles and distributes the Republic of Korea’s Kia, Japan’s Mazda, France’s Peugeot and BMW models.