Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Ford Vietnam Announces $82 Million Investment in Switch From Motorbikes to
Cars

VOA News

   Ford Vietnam has announced it is investing $82 million to increase
   production, which will speed up the transition to cars in a communist
   nation known more for the iconic motorbike.

   The automaker will use the money to buy machines like
   internet-connected robots, add a body-and-paint shop to its factory
   outside Hanoi, and nearly double its workforce to approximately 1,000
   people, Ford Vietnam said last week. The Southeast Asian nation is one
   of the biggest markets for motorbikes in the world, but cars are
   increasingly popular as more Vietnamese have the money to buy them for
   private use or to drive for Grab, the Uber of Southeast Asia.

   In a nation of more than 90 million people, car sales reached 322,322
   last year as of December, up 12% compared to the prior year, according
   to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, or VAMA."

   The new investment in local production will help us grow even further,"
   Pham Van Dung, managing director at Ford Vietnam, said. He added: "We
   take pride in having been one of the first foreign companies to invest
   in Vietnam in 1995."

   The U.S. carmaker entered Vietnam after Washington ended its trade
   embargo on the nation that had defeated it two decades prior in the
   Vietnam War.

   Ford Vietnam said it would spread out the investment over two years and
   nearly triple the capacity, to 40,000 vehicles a year, at its factory
   in northern Hai Duong province.

.