Several countries in Southeast Asia are starting to make their national cars. After Vietnam which has VinFast, now it’s Cambodia’s turn to surprise many people with GTV Motor.
GTV Motor already built a production facility in Kandal District, Cambodia. The factory, which stands on an area of 100,000 square meters, was built with funds amounting to USD 15.6 million or around IDR 240.09 billion and is planned to be fully operational by the end of February 2024.
“In addition to opening 758 jobs, is trying to focus on filling the needs of the domestic market rather than the export market,” wrote GTV Motor’s official statement, quoted by The Better Cambodia.
They seems to be aware of itself as a new player. They didn’t go all out like VinFast from Vietnam which suddenly immediately flew to the United States, Australia, and Indonesia.
They want to pamper consumers in Cambodia with quality domestically made cars, including providing cars at affordable prices.
“GTV Motor is here to meet the tastes and budgets of consumers in Cambodia,” continued GTV Motor’s official statement.
The presence of GTV Motor in Cambodia will certainly be interesting. The reason is that they have to fight with car brands that were already present in Cambodia, such as Dongfeng, Ford, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Ssangtong, Soueast, Daehan and Toyota.
Not to mention that the Cambodian automotive market is not that big either. Annual car sales in Cambodia only range from 20,000 to 30,000 units.
The biggest sales are predicted to occur in 2024 with a sales target of 50,000 units.
Later, to compete with others, it will present five cars in different segments. From the teaser image uploaded by GTV Motor, at least they already have an SUV, pickup, and MPV. These cars are the type of car that is liked by consumers in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia.
Unfortunately, the investor behind was not revealed. What is certain is that according to the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, Sok Chenda Sophea, investors in GTV Motor have long been observing developments in the Cambodian automotive world.
“Building a factory in Cambodia is certainly not an accident. Of course, there are several considerations made before investing. Ford’s success here with sales continuing to increase proves that the Cambodian automotive market continues to grow,” explained Sok Cheenda Sophea.
Interestingly, from the official Facebook account, there are at least two cars they will soon sell in Cambodia. The two are GTV Motor Krusar and GTV Motor Kain.
Both cars look very modern. It’s no joke that the car designer who was once the head of the famous Pininfarina design studio, Lowie Vermeersch, actually became the main designer of the cars made in Cambodia.