Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City 2026 review
Vietnam is the emerging market story for automotive investors and suppliers in Asia.
After an extraordinary 8 % GDP growth rate last year, industrialisation policies continue to enhance Vietnam ' s manufacturing advantage and economic growth.
For investors and automotive industry professionals, the place to meet and understand the Vietnamese automotive industry and aftermarket sectors is Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City. The 2026 event was the eighth edition of Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City, hosting 410 exhibitors from 17 countries and territories across 18,100 square metres at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.
Information sessions by thought leaders and industry experts, with deep insights into the Vietnamese industry and automotive market, sharpened attendees focus and experience at Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City 2026.
Government policies are creating an increasingly competitive manufacturing sector in Vietnam, with employment being a key goal for Vietnamese policymakers. Automotive parts and components are one of the qualifying sectors for Vietnamese manufacturing incentives. These dynamic subsidies include tax holidays and import duty exemptions on raw materials and specialised tooling. High-tech zones further incentivise automotive manufacturing investments with incredibly low land rentals in industrial parks.
The Vietnamese new-vehicle market has an impressive new-energy component, with sales of electric and hybrid vehicles increasing by 36 % year-on-year.
At Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City 2026, many of the speaker sessions and workshops focused on software-defined vehicles. And discussed how electric powertrains and advanced fleet logistics can grow alongside the impressively growing Vietnamese economy.
With the Vietnamese automotive aftermarket projected to grow at an annualised compound rate of 8.9 % until 2035 to service the country ' s expanding new-vehicle parc, this is a market with real potential for legacy suppliers.
With a population of more than 100 million and low levels of automotive ownership, Vietnam ' s future mobility and private vehicle ownership potential is vast. Beyond its emerging potential as a new vehicle sales driver for global OEMs seeking growth markets, Vietnam also offers the potential as a manufacturing base.
Asia ' s rising automotive zone
VinFast is Vietnam ' s global champion, having grown into an internationally competitive automotive OEM in just eight years since its founding in 2017. The success of VinFast is telling and has been an often-cited example of how technically advanced and capable the Vietnamese auto industry and supply chain have become in a very short amount of time.
JUNE 2026 45 WORDS IN ACTION