Fiat to step up investment in vietnamese car market
HANOI - Italian car maker Fiat is set to step up its investment in Vietnam, with plans
to launch a new model and boost training and technology transfer at its local partner, Mekong Auto.
Giovanni Muskovic, Fiat project manager for the Middle East and South Asia, said that the country's 80
million people and stable politics and economy were a promising foundation for future growth.
"Vietnam's automobile market will flourish in the coming years because more and more people will be able
to afford cars," Muskovic told the Vietnam News Agency from Fiat headquarters in Turin.
Fiat is hoping to tailor its automobiles to fit the Vietnamese market, and will test the waters early in 2002
with the launch of a family mini-van, the Doblo.
Muskovic made the ambitious prediction that Fiat can double its sales in Vietnam over the next few years,
despite major over capacity and lingering unprofitability at virtually all joint venture auto makers here.
He said Fiat's confidence about its prospects was based partly on its faith in Mekong Auto's development
potential.
"Mekong Auto has a good team. Its engineers and workers adapt to technology, and are dynamic,
intelligent and industrious," he said.
Fiat returned to Vietnam in 1994 after a 20-year hiatus. In tandem with Mekong Auto, the company rolled
out its first Fiat Tempra in mid-1996 and had sold 1,000 cars by August this year.
The launch of the Fiat Siena has been a major boost this year, turning around a serious sales slump.
Of the 690 cars Fiat sold in the first 10 months of this year, 500 were Sienas. Last year, the company sold
just 414 vehicles overall.
Fiat began production in 1939 at the Mirafiori plant, and is one of Italy's leading car makers.
The company sells itself on its attention to quality control, and is known for its extensive personnel training.
Employees at its foreign operations are regularly invited to Mirafiori to update their skills and ensure
consistency around the world.
Vietnam News Agency - November 27, 2001.
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