Mekong Auto Corporation

Mekong Auto Corporation
legal form	Corporation
founding	June 22, 1991
Seat	Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
management	Sang Won Park
Number of employees	250
Branch	Automobile manufacturing
Website	www.mekongauto.com.vn

Mekong Auto Corporation is a Vietnamese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City . The company currently has 250 employees.

Company history

The beginning

The official establishment of the company took place on June 22, 1991 via the license 208 / GP issued by the government . Mekong Auto sources its vehicle parts from 36 countries and has secured their parts supply through various agreements and with joint ventures . The factory itself only deals with the assembly of CKD kits .

Unexpected difficulties

Ngài Sung Kyun Moon , who chaired the board, was dissatisfied with the company's development. The country was still in a civil war-like state. Furthermore, the plant was not in good condition and had to be renovated over and over again, which swallowed up large amounts of capital, and production did not even start, he argued. Due to this situation, Mekong Auto was ultimately no longer able to balance its finances and bankruptcy was threatened . As a private company, however, the chairman of the board of directors managed to secure the necessary state support, which ultimately helped over this barrier.

Production starts

After this hurdle, production in the Delta Car Factory began on May 20, 1992. The company assembles 175,200 units per year of production, which corresponds to a production of 480 vehicles per day. The first model was the Mekong Stars-4WD . A source confirms that Mekong was the brand name for a car model from 1992 to 1997. Shortly afterwards, the Italian IVECO contacted the company and acted as the first foreign investor. In return, Mekong Auto has since been importing IVECO vehicles to Vietnam. In June 1995, another joint venture was concluded, which was agreed with the Italian Fiat SpA . Assembly of the Tempra and Siena models began in July . In January 1997, the SsangYong Motor Company formed another joint venture. New to the program was the large luxury SUV Musso , which was primarily intended for party officials. The Stars-4WD has been withdrawn from the program. SsangYong established the Korando in the compact SUV class .

Success and striving for improvement

As the first automobile manufacturer in Vietnam and the success still achieved at the end of the millennium, Mekong Auto set itself the goal of shaping domestic consumers according to its own market interests and always producing the most modern automobiles according to international standards. Since October 1999, Mekong Autos has been converting its vehicles to order for military and medical use. Since then, the company has also acted as a general importer for numerous small and coach manufacturers. But trucks of all types from well-known manufacturers are also imported into the home country by the company.

In the journal “Mekong Autofocus”, the press officer responsible stated that the company was loyal to politicians and consumers.

Introduction of customer service

Mekong Auto has had a nationwide network of dealers and workshops since 1999. The parts supply is handled by an independent agency. Depending on the model, the company gives the customer a 3 to 5 year guarantee on its products. When buying a new passenger car in connection with the scrapping of old cars, the Vietnamese government granted even tax breaks and / or financial support.

The new millennium

At the turn of the millennium, the company management decided to establish further models. The old SsangYong Musso was exchanged for the modified version and was named SsangYong Musso Libero for the domestic market . The Fiat Doblò only managed to go into series production in January 2000 and proved to be successful both as a passenger car and in the commercial vehicle versions. Just over two years later, Mekong Auto launched the Fiat Albea , which replaced the Fiat Tempra . Although the midsize sedan was very popular domestically, the company decided to swap out the model. In spring 2004, Mekong Auto set up a joint venture with the North Korean Pyeonghwa Motor Plant and terminated the existing one with the SsangYong Motor Company at the turn of the year . The mid-range 7-seater Pyeonghwa Pronto DX , which is a sister model of the Chinese Dandong Shuguang and corresponds to the North Korean Pyeonghwa Ppeokkugi II, has been added to the model range. In the commercial vehicle class, the company used the Pyeonghwa Premio DX pick-up , which is intended to target companies, suppliers and farmers.

Tensions with GM

In September 2004, Mekong Auto Corporation presented its first independently developed vehicle, the Pyeonghwa Premio MAX . At the same time, Chevrolet wanted to enter the Vietnamese market for the first time with its Chevrolet Colorado . However, both vehicles look so similar that both companies accuse each other of having committed corporate espionage and of producing counterfeit products for each other. So far, none of the companies has taken legal action. Between 2002 and 2008, the Premio MAX was exported to the People's Republic of China as a CKD kit under the name FAW ZhongNeng CA6460 S7 as an SUV and FAW Zhongneng CA1021 Z7 as a pick-up, followed by the HuangHai SG Plutus only as a pick-up. Since 2009 the model has been sold in North Korea under the name Pyeonghwa Ppeokkugi 4WD .

More after that

At the turn of the year, Mekong Auto swapped the Fiat Siena for the new Fiat Grande Punto . In 2007 the Fiat Doblò and the Fiat Albea were taken out of the range. It was replaced by the small Fiat 500 and the mid-range Fiat Bravo sedan . In 2009 the Premio DX was replaced by the technically revised Pyeonghwa Premio DX II . New to the LineUp was the Pyeonghwa Pronto GS , the only model that replaced the DX generation. Visually, the GS corresponds to the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 120 . The latest model that Mekong Auto has been assembling since January 2011 is the Pyeonghwa Paso 990 , a sister model of the DFM mini truck of the type EQ 1020 with box bodies for the local market. The parts supply for the model is subject to the Chinese Dongfeng Motor Corporation . Since then, the Premio DX II has also been available as a pick-up with a removable roof. The look of the model has been adapted to the Premio MAX.

Corporate structure

Investment and capital

• Total investment: 35,995,000 US dollars
• Legal Capital: $ 20,000,000

Deposit ratio

• Saeilo Machinery Japan Inc. ( Japan ): 51%
• Sae Young International Inc. ( South Korea ): 19%
• Veam (Vietnam): 18%
• Sakyno (Vietnam): 12%

Overview of senior managers by position

• Chairman : Sang Kwon Park
• Vice Presidents : Charles Young Lee, Nguyễn Thanh Giang, Motoo Furuta, Huỳnh Ngọc Ẩn
• Commission Advisory Boards: Kim Moo Tea, Sadao Koyanagi, Đào Thị Minh Vân, Shinji Yamane, Lê Trọng Can

Model overview

brand	1990s								2000s										2010s
	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	0	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	0	1	2
	Stars-4WD 1992 to 1997
				Siena 1995 to 2005										Grande Punto since 2005
				Tempra 1995 to 2002							Albea 2002 to 2007					Bravo since 2007
									Doblò 2000 to 2007							500 since 2007
						Korando 1997 to 2005
						Musso 1997 to 1999		Musso Libero 1999 to 2005
													Premio DX 2004 to 2009					Premio DX II since 2009
													Premio MAX since 2004
																		Pronto GS since 2009
																				Paso 990 since 2011

Web links

• The company's website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ D'Auto (Dutch, accessed December 20, 2015)