Vietnam works with Russia to realize ‘low-cost’ car dream Automobile joint ventures between Russia, Belarus and Vietnam are expected to be set up soon.   Under agreements signed between Vietnam and Russia, auto joint ventures would gradually increase the localization ratios in their products. The ratios would be 25 percent by 2020 for specialized vehicles, 30 percent of trucks and terrain vehicles and 35 percent of models with 10 seats and more. Meanwhile, Belarus has promised higher localization ratios of 40 percent by 2020 and 60 percent by 2026. In early April, the Vietnam-Belarus Business Forum reported that two joint ventures would be set up on the basis of the existing factories in Vietnam which would assemble car parts. In an effort to expand cooperation in production, the first BelAz were churned out early this year. Meanwhile, buses and dump dump trucks are going to come out in the market. The information about Russian cars and the establishment of Vietnam-Belarus and Vietnam-Russia automobile joint ventures has caught from the public. Some sources reported that a Hanoi-based company has imported UAZ Patriot from Russia and now sells the products at VND700-800 million per product. Meanwhile, under the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Asia – Europe Economic Union (Federation of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan), this kind of product enjoys a preferential import tariff of zero percent. However, To Dinh Lam, director of Auto K, believed to be the importer, denied the information. Lam said he has not signed any price quotation document for UAZ products. Automobile joint ventures between Russia, Belarus and Vietnam are expected to be set up soon. Auto K has been allowed to import 350 CBU products (complete built unit) at the preferential tax rate of zero percent. It is expected that Auto K would import 500 UAZ Patriot and UAZ Pickup. This means that about 150 products would not be able to enjoy the preferential tax rate. According to the General Department of Customs (GDC), in the first eight months of the year, Vietnam imported 1,180 CBU products from Russia, an increase of 373.6 percent, or four times higher than the same period last year, worth $66.9 million. Of this amount, 960 products were trucks (up by 707 products), while 172 were other kinds of vehicles. There were only 48 cars with nine and fewer seats. Meanwhile, in 2015, only one product of this kind was imported. Kirill Baturo from Belarus Embassy in Vietnam said Vietnamese were familiar with MTZ’s tractors and BelAz’s products Belarus now assembles MAZ trucks with the facilities of Samco Company. Ivan Gumnikov from Russian Embassy in Vietnam thinks that Russian trucks and passenger cars would have great potential in the market. Kim Chi, VNN