TMT Motors boss: ‘We chose difficulties to make Wuling HongGuang MiniEV electric car’

On February 18, 2023, those interested in the automobile market were caught up in interesting information: TMT Motors announced the cooperation and product launch of the joint venture GM (USA) in cooperation with Shanghai Automobiles. and Guangxi Automobile serving Vietnamese consumers.

This is the world’s best-selling mini electric car model for 3 consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022), right from the time this product was launched (2020).

Then, on May 15, 2023, the actual images of Wuling HongGuang MiniEV were first revealed at TMT Motors’ factory in Hung Yen.

In order to explore the interesting untold story behind the journey of bringing the “king” of mini electric cars to Vietnam, we had a conversation with Mr. Hoang Minh Dong – Director of TMT Motors electric vehicle factory.

Can you share the reason why TMT Motors chose a joint venture of GM (USA) as a strategic partner for the project to launch mini electric cars in Vietnam?

5 years ago, we started researching about electric cars, because TMT Motors sees green energy as a positive trend of the future.

Besides, with the goal of the Party and State by 2045, Vietnam is a developed industrial country with high income, the use of motorbikes will be less suitable for people in urban areas. large in Vietnam.

With the desire to be an enterprise not only doing business for profit but also being socially responsible, orienting to bring compact, environmentally friendly and affordable mini electric cars into Vietnam to gradually gradually replace two-wheeled motorcycles in the future, in line with the general development of the country.

In the process of researching to find the most suitable product for the Vietnamese market, we had to ignore many other partners and manufacturers of mini electric cars with 100% Chinese capital to find and choose. choosing our current partner is a joint venture manufacturer GM (USA), through finding out about our partners, we know the reason why the best-selling product in China in the past three years is because the product is controlled by GM of the US. Very strict control from production to quality supervision, shipment.

Through many rounds of exchanges and negotiations with SGMW, we learned that Wuling HongGuang MiniEV is manufactured by a joint venture between GM with a 44% stake, Shanghai Automotive with a 50.1% stake and O. Guangxi Auto contributes 5.9% stake.

GM (USA) joint venture has many electric car models, why did TMT Motors choose Wuling HongGuang MiniEV model to invest in production rather than other cars?

TMT Motors’ factory is capable of manufacturing and assembling all segments A, B and C. However, from the very beginning, we wanted to produce and assemble a mini car model to supply out. market.

We realize that this is a missing segment and will be a model with stable design and quality over the years, so it will meet the needs of customers. With a small car like the Wuling HongGuang MiniEV, the price will be “within reach” and easily reach the majority of customers who are in need of buying cars without economic conditions.

We hope that, with this mini electric car model, it will gradually change people’s motorbike habits, providing a safe, civilized and efficient means of transportation that is more economical for consumers. .

Can you share some information during working with joint venture partner of GM (USA)?

During our research, we looked at different models of electric cars from Europe to Asia… Our experts found that, when viewed directly, dissect those products especially when driving. Test the car, the utility and quality are similar, but the price is too different. There are European models that are 1.5 to 3 times more expensive than the Wuling HongGuang MiniEV, mainly due to the brand factor.

When we were directly approached and tested the Wuling HongGuang MiniEV, right from the moment of opening the door, closing the door, then holding the steering wheel and testing it, everything was really unexpected, the impression left really unforgettable. with our experts. Perhaps that is the reason why it is so popular in Southeast Asian countries, as well as being welcomed in demanding markets like Europe.

When I heard that TMT Motors wanted to find partners to deploy electric cars, many manufacturers contacted and offered to connect. However, his side chose a very principled and disciplined partner. Can you share more about this story?

We have received invitations to cooperate from many different firms from all continents. It can be said that they really “rolled out the red carpet”, looking forward to cooperating with TMT Motors on electric vehicles.

It is understandable because the potential and foundation of TMT Motors in the field of automobile manufacturing and assembly in Vietnam has been confirmed over nearly 50 years of operation, as well as the great potential of the Vietnamese market.

However, as I said, TMT Motors does not choose partners based on the “red carpet”, but according to the criteria of stable product quality, which must be put first and must be strictly controlled by a global brand. like GM (USA). Only then will Vietnamese consumers feel secure to use that product and always trust TMT Motors.

Therefore, we accept to take the difficult road to connect with a very disciplined and disciplined partner like GM joint venture (SGMW).

As one of the pioneers to open the mini electric car segment in Vietnam, TMT Motors is forecasted to face many technological difficulties related to the software of electric vehicles. What do you think about this issue?

As mentioned above, TMT Motors has been involved in the automotive field for many years. With that valuable experience, the Board of Directors of TMT Motors still feels that it is not enough. To have a strategic product to serve the Vietnamese people for many years, it is certain that in the production and assembly stage at TMT’s factory, it must be receive the entire technology transfer from the first stage to the last stage, to get quality products.

However, to do this, TMT has to pay a relatively large amount of money, including royalties for the joint venture GM (USA) SGMW. Our most common goal is to have a stable quality product to better serve Vietnamese consumers.

Can you reveal the product configuration and expected selling price of Wuling HongGuang MiniEV?

We will offer two versions of the Wuling HongGuang MiniEV to the market, including a Standard version and a full Advanced version. Each version will have the option of a battery capacity of 9.6 kWh or 13.4 kWh, for a maximum travel distance of 120 km and 170 km, respectively.

It is expected that the selling price of the versions will be announced at the end of this June. With that price, we hope to help many people with average incomes from 13 to 15 million VND/month also have the opportunity to access and realize the dream of cars.

Do you have a plan for customers to deposit in advance?

We will announce the sales policy and product launch on June 29, 2023 at the same time at the National Convention Center (Hanoi) and Tan Son Nhat Golf Course (Ho Chi Minh City), starting receive deposit from 30/6/2023.

Currently, the first Wuling HongGuang MiniEVs are being manufactured, assembled and tested at TMT Motors’ factory. Then, we will have to export and return those first cars to GM’s joint venture so that they can check the quality of assembly in Vietnam before mass production and assembly. Therefore, all cars assembled in Vietnam will have to comply with GM’s global control standards to give customers complete peace of mind.

Thank you for this interesting conversation!