Vietnam to triple auto output in 2005

Communist Vietnam aims to triple automobile output in 2005 to 120,000 vehicles from 2003 as part of a government plan to boost the transportation sector.
The Southeast Asian country, where only 41,000 vehicles were assembled last year, has car and truck assembling plants operated by 11 foreign auto makers, including Toyota Motor Corp and General Motors Corp.
"The general target is to build an automobile industry so that it becomes capable of meeting the higher demand of local market and to join international markets," said Nguyen Xuan Chuan, chairman of Vietnam Society of Automotive Engineers, a state body that advises the government on the sector.