Autocar magazine launches in Vietnam

Published under licence by Le Media who launched Haymarket’s Stuff magazine in the market in 2009, this will be the 16th international edition, and the ninth Asian edition of the popular auto magazine.

Autocar will provide Vietnamese consumers with car news, reviews, road tests and buying advice that has made the magazine such a success since it launched in the UK in 1895 and a must read for car enthusiasts and general consumers alike.

Led by editor Nguyen Van Trung with a team split between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the first issue of the monthly Autocar Vietnam is for February 2011, and will go on sale country-wide this week.

The magazine is priced at VND34,500 (US$1.77), will also be available soon as a digital edition on Zinio, covering the local and international motoring scenes.

Haymarket’s licensing manager in Asia, Edward Marr, whose efforts to secure a licence partner for the magazine were followed in the 2010 BBC TV documentary Theo’s Adventure Capitalist: Vietnam, said, “We are really excited to be launching Autocar in Vietnam. The timing is perfect as the motoring sector there is growing and has huge potential."

"We are also very pleased to be working on a second launch with Le Media. It is fantastic to have secured the deal after appearing on television working on the project which has been in the making for a few years, proving that doing business in Asia is really about timing and developing the best relationships,” he added.

Le Quoc Vinh, chairman and CEO of Le Media, said, “Recent years have seen a lot of car brands enter the Vietnamese market for the first time and consumers need to be armed with the best and most up-to-date information possible when choosing a new car. The market is now ready for the launch of the first international automotive magazine and we are very confident that developing our partnership with Haymarket who have such a long pedigree in the automotive sector will help us become the leading motoring media brand in Vietnam very quickly.”

Publisher of Autocar Alastair Lewis said, “We are really delighted that Autocar is now such a dominant brand in Asia. 2011 promises to be a landmark year for Autocar in Asia and the UK with iPad apps, our up-coming 5,000th Road Test and the re-launch of our website Autocar.co.uk, all happening in the next few months.”

Autocar’s Asia editions are published in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.