Tan Chong to lose another distribution right for Nissan vehicles in Vietnam

Less than two years after losing the right to distribute imported Nissan vehicles in Vietnam, Tan Chong Motor Holdings (TCMH) appears to be on the brink of losing the distributorship of locally-assembled Nissan vehicles in Vietnam too.

Tan Chong’s Nissan business in Vietnam is structured under two related companies. ETCM (V) Pte Ltd runs the imported Nissan vehicles business - Nissan Navara and Nissan Terra, both imported from Thailand – an agreement that will expire by September this year.

Meanwhile, TCIE Vietnam Pte Ltd (TCIEV) handles local assembly of models, namely the Almera (sold as Sunny in Vietnam) and X-Trail.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, TCMH announced that TCIEV’s agreement with Nissan Motor will not be renewed, and will expire by September this year.

“Notwithstanding the above, the technical assistance agreement dated May 30, 2012 executed between TCIEV and NML for the rendering of technical assistance to TCIEV by NML for the assembly of the Nissan CKD models will continue to remain in force,” Tan Chong said.

“TCIEV and NML are in open dialogue on the continuity and the alternative distribution channels for the Nissan CKD Models in Vietnam,” it added.

Nissan has yet to announce who will take over the business in Vietnam but we hope it’s not Nissan themselves. The company have proven itself to be grossly incompetent in managing its business in South East Asia.

Many might find this hard to believe, but Edaran Tan Chong is actually the best performing Nissan distributor in the region. There’s only so much that a distributor like ETCM can do if Nissan products are so lacklustre.

Nissan has since pulled out of Indonesia and is very weak in Thailand. Malaysia (Edaran Tan Chong Motor) and Philippines (wholly-owned Nissan Philippines) are the only bright spots.