Thaco to launch its second homegrown brand, a 'minibus,' in Vietnam in June -- taking on VinFast

Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Vietnamese conglomerate Thaco (Truong Hai Group), announced on February 23, 2026 that "Thaco Auto will launch a Thaco-branded minibus in June 2026 and bring a Thaco-branded passenger car to market in 2027." Backed by a production base with an annual capacity of about 120,000 units at the Chu Lai Industrial Park in Da Nang City (which absorbed Quang Nam Province in July 2025), this will establish Vietnam's second domestic brand after VinFast. It marks a historic turning point for the largest assembler of Mazda, Kia, Peugeot, BMW, and MINI vehicles, as it transforms from an "assembler" into a "brand builder."

News details

According to reports from theinvestor.vn and vietnamnet.vn, Chairman Tran Ba Duong said in an internal message in February 2026 that "we will extend the expertise in running our own brand, built up in commercial vehicles (buses and trucks), to minibuses and passenger cars." Thaco Auto has set targets of selling 96,600 units in 2026, with revenue of VND 65.5 trillion (about USD 2.51-2.58 billion, roughly JPY 380 billion) and export value of USD 30.5 million. For 2027, it expects revenue of VND 72 trillion. It has already achieved a local content ratio of up to 70% in commercial vehicles, and plans to extend that know-how horizontally into the passenger car segment.

Background

The Vietnamese government has set a policy of raising the local content ratio for domestic auto parts to 80-85% by 2030-2045, making the cultivation of domestic brands a national strategy as well. While VinFast has moved ahead as an EV specialist, there had been a gap in mass-market brands that include internal combustion vehicles, so Thaco's entry responds to both policy and market needs. The Chu Lai site hosts a cluster of 19 machining and parts plants, aiming to capture value through supply chain integration. In 2026, Thaco Group's combined automotive market share, including Mazda and Kia, stands at 30-35%, but all of it consists of foreign brands, leaving it without a "domestic flagship."

Thaco's auto business by the numbers (2026 plan, JPY 1 = VND 170)

Industry and local reaction

theinvestor.vn assessed in an editorial that "Thaco's decision means breaking away from a business model that has depended on assembling foreign brands, and represents a vertical integration strategy aimed at capturing value across the entire supply chain."VietnamNet analyzed, under the headline "Thaco shifts from assembler to brand builder," that Thaco's track record of building its own successful brand in commercial vehicles will support its expansion into passenger cars. Seasia.co pointed out that "Vietnam gaining a second domestic brand in 2027 will redraw the ASEAN automotive map." Meanwhile, on the local forum VOZ, skeptical posts can also be found, questioning "how much price competitiveness Thaco can secure amid the influx of Chinese brands."

What this means for Japanese companies and readers

In addition to Mazda, Kia, Peugeot, BMW, and MINI, Thaco also plans to begin assembling Jeep and RAM in 2026, adopting a "two-track" strategy of developing its own brand in parallel while maintaining its position as a partner for Japanese and Western brands. For Japanese auto parts makers, this means Thaco is changing character — no longer just an "assembly contractor," but also becoming "the customer ordering parts for its own brand." Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers need to simultaneously review pricing and QCD (quality, cost, delivery) and consider the opportunity to supply new molds and jigs for the Thaco brand. Meanwhile, for finished vehicle makers such as Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, and Honda that outsource assembly locally, competition over production capacity and engineering resource allocation is likely to become a point of contention going forward.

Ripple Effects on the Industry

Thaco's entry into minibuses puts direct pressure on rivals already competing in the commercial vehicle segment, such as Hyundai Thanh Cong (Korean-affiliated), Isuzu, Hino, and Isuzu. In passenger cars, in contrast to VinFast's EV-only path, Thaco is signaling a broad lineup that includes internal combustion and hybrid vehicles, and is expected to compete on price with Chinese brands (BYD, Wuling, Chery). Further concentration of parts suppliers around Chu Lai is likely, potentially reshaping an automotive industry map that has so far been concentrated around the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City metro areas. On the export front, Thaco is also weighing exports with a mix of right- and left-hand-drive vehicles to nearby markets such as Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, taking advantage of tariff preferences under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA).

Practical Information

Conclusion

Thaco's move to its own brand is a symbolic step in Vietnam's automotive industry shedding its skin from "assembly and imports" to "domestic design and domestic exports." A three-way structure is taking shape: VinFast's EV path, Thaco's internal-combustion and commercial-vehicle path, and the influx of low-cost EVs from Chinese players. Japanese finished vehicle and parts makers are now at a point where they need to redesign, at the same time, both maintaining their relationships as local partners and their supply strategy toward emerging domestic brands. In particular, how each Tier 1 supplier responds to requests for parts supply aimed at the Thaco brand will determine the success of its Vietnam business in 2026-2027. VinFast's overseas expansion— alongside this, it is worth continuing to keep a close eye on the moves of this second domestic brand.

Reference links

• The Investor — Vietnam conglomerate Thaco to launch its own passenger car brand
• VietnamNet — Thaco signals move from assembler to brand builder
• Vietnam+ — THACO to unveil 28 new automobile models
• Seasia.co — Vietnam is ready to launch its second national car brand ‘Thaco’ in 2027

Related article: VinFast launches its 7-seat electric MPV "VF MPV 7" in the Indian market ／ Samsung Electronics to build a 4 billion dollar semiconductor packaging plant in Vietnam